Inc.
by MarshAngel
Summary: Serena must protect her family's company from a man she fears will lead to its downfall but how will she protect her heart and will she want to?
1. Default Chapter Title

Title: Inc-prologuue  
Rating: PG-13- mild sexual references, language.  
Author: MarshAngel  
E-mail: watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
  
Somehow I feel it's a bit redundant to say I don't own Sailor Moon, so I won't.  
Sue Me if you will, but between us both, Ihave nothing you could possibly want.  
  
I orginally put up chapters of this story before I realized that I had no idea where  
it was going. Unfortunately for those of you who liked the beginning I left you hanging  
for quite a while because of writers block. I finally have the story done however and I've  
learned my lesson and some valuable writing experience. I'll never put up an incomplete  
story again as I have a tendency to right in a rather non-linear fashion. Anyway...   
on with the story....  
  
  
  
"I don't appreciate the way you're handling this. This company has   
been in my family for three generations, I will not have you split it up like a   
cheap block of wood. I'll be damned if you'll take away what is rightfully   
mine!" The old man was red faced with anger. People had begun to stare   
and whisper.  
  
"Calm yourself before you give yourself a heart attack Henry."  
  
"How dare you!" Henry Vicente sputtered, disbelieving the pure calm   
and what could easily be conceived as complete boredom on Derencourt's   
face. "I swear I will fight this, you arrogant son of a bitch. I won't let some   
upcoming snot nosed kid like you do this to My Company! Men like you are   
exactly what's wrong with this country and I swear you'll regret this!" He   
watched as a cynical smile crossed the dark, handsome features of the   
man he now considered his enemy.  
  
"Strange words coming from a Capitalist and a Republican,"   
Derencourt said softly.  
  
"Fuck you Derencourt!" He stalked out of the restaurant feeling the   
eyes of the wealthy patrons piercing his back.  
  
"That was cold even for you," the beautiful woman sitting beside him   
spoke for the first time since Vicente had begun his tirade. Her face was a   
vision of pure calm and utter serenity, a mirror of his own.   
  
"It's business, Setsuna. I don't get emotionally involved."  
  
Setsuna stared at her friend and boss, amazed at how controlled he   
was. There were times she wasn't sure how he managed to do his job with   
a clear conscience.   
  
"He's right you know. You are an arrogant son of a bitch."  
Darien Derencourt, arrogant SOB extraordinaire merely raised an   
eyebrow.  
  



	2. Inc Chapter 1

MarshAngel  
Watsonma@hotmail.com  
  
Inc.  
  
Somewhere on the West Coast of the United States, specifically San Francisco,   
most famous for it's Golden Gate Bridge and zoological Gardens, Serena Kyler   
looked up from the slightly glowing computer screen at her desk. As her head rose   
she was suddenly aware of the stiffness and slight pain in the back of her neck.   
She reached a well toned, lightly tanned arm behind her head to massage the base   
of her neck where her honey-blonde curls were already flowing out of the insecure   
knot in which she had fixed it that morning. In doing so she succeeded in knocking   
her hair from it's knot causing her waist-length curls to tumble over her hands and  
down to her waist.  
  
She sighed, and after considering her present situation decided to take a break. She   
loosened the curls with her fingers, tugging none too gently and wincing as her fingers  
caught one of the numerous knots into which her hair tended to arrange itself when not  
constantly attended to with a hairbrush. Placing both hands on the large faux cherry-wood   
desk, she pushed herself out of her comfortable chair, allowing the wheels to slide backwards,  
giving her space to move freely.  
  
She continued to massage her neck as she walked slowly over to the large windows that, made up  
the majority of the left wall of her office. The other walls were relatively bland, containing   
a few of her awards, mostly from UCLA, where she had earned her degree and graduated in the top  
five percent of her class. That left the large window overlooking the city as the only point of interest in the office.   
The view from the large ebony-framed windows of the Kyler Inc. high-rise office structure was truly amazing.The building was far from the tallest in the city but architecturally it rose above all the others. It was about thirty-five stories high and from the outside appeared to be a silvery blue that reflected the bright skies and sunsets on a good day. It was one of the few corporate buildings in town that seemed to fit into any environment.It would have been perfect in any place, even in the San Francisco hills where her family home was located. She hardly went there anymore, preferring the comfort of her spacious studio   
apartment in the city, than being surrounded by various members of her considerably large   
family that visited the house periodically.   
  
When she did happen to make her presence known to her family on various holidays or family occasions on which her absence would be considered a direct insult and a bad reflection on herself, she enjoyed solitude of the woods surrounding the extremely large mansion of mixed architectural styles. There she could escape the constant chatter of her younger cousins, and the incessant gossip of her recently married cousins, and the man-hunting frenzy in which her single cousins engaged. She easily avoided both groups including the company of her   
overbearing grandmother by flashing the engagement ring that easily got those who would have normally forced into pointless conversations about love and marriage off her back and allowed her to escape to the natural beauty of the woods.  
  
Love and marriage seemed to be the only conversation any of the women in her family discussed.  
They of course expected her to be equally intrigued by their conversations but she had little patience for such matters. To her family's great consternation she really had no interest in marriage or the discussion of the matter. She had a fiancée but she had no interest in marriage. She wouldn't tell her family that of course. Her grandmother would probably pass out from the shock.   
  
Staring out the window, she smoothed her short gray linen skirt with one hand and then tugging at its matching jacket, in an attempt to straighten the creases she had gotten from sitting in the chair for so long. Looking out over the city, through the large windows of the high-rise office building, she caught glimpses of the endless array of cars, which at this time of day were no doubt stuck in a traffic jam. Even with the usual smog in the air, the sunset was   
spectacular. The mix of bright yellow deepening to a fiery orange, fading off into bright pink and ending in hazy violet, was a sight of which she never tired. Even as a little girl  
she'd point out the beauty of it to her parents, but they had never looked. They were always too busy with something else.  
  
Even now her parents hardly paid any attention to what she did. In high school her friends had thought it was really cool that she could pretty much do what she wanted, but when your parents wouldn't be shocked into caring by anything rebellious you did, what was the point? There was no urge to rebel when the people you wanted most to notice would hardly blink an eye. Serena loved her parents and she knew they loved her but it would be nice every once in a while for them to pay some attention to what she said or did.  
  
The only time either of them blinked an eye was at the mention of marriage. She glanced down at the large diamond ring on her finger. At some point they had actually taken note of her engagement and she got the sense that her parents were very pleased. They approved of herfiancée, but then why wouldn't they? He was tall, gorgeous, blonde, and blue-eyed. He came from a wealthy and prestigious family just like her own; he had the right job and the right connections. Yes, he was perfect in every way. Even his name resounded perfection: Andrew   
William Davenport III. There was only one problem, Serena didn't love him.  
Andrew was a very nice guy but lately it seemed as though they were growing apart. Whenever they were together it was as though they were more like best friends or siblings. They teasedeach other, they went on picnics, he took her to expensive restaurants, everything couples were expected to do, but as soon as she had gotten over her early infatuation and the whirlwindromance that had lead to their engagement, she realized that she loved him not as a husband, but as a really close friend. She doubted that he was in love with her either but they wereboth afraid of being alone or having to find someone else; in each other they had found   
everything their families and friends had expected for them.   
  
The wedding was less than two months away and for the first time her mother seemed to be paying attention to her and it was driving her up the wall. Now she wished things could go back to the way they had been, when she had been ignored, and there were no thoughts as to color schemes, doves, caterers, musicians, and those damn lilies. Her mother kept insisting that lilies were what she should have at her wedding. Serena was tired of having to remind her mother how much she disliked lilies, as they reminded her of funerals, and repeatedly telling her she preferred white or cream-colored roses.  
Now she was contemplating telling her parents that there would be no wedding. She could just hear it now: "After all this planning...he's so perfect... what is wrong with you... I'm sure you could work this out...You're just getting cold feet...." All this was of course assuming her parents said anything at all. There was always the chance they would just ignore her as though she had said nothing at all, and all would be normal once again.  
She glanced down at her watch and decided to call it a day. She spent long hours in her office doing reports that her father would probably glance over, give her his usual meaningless compliment and then turn his mind back to everyone else's business. She was tired of having to fight other executives for his attention. She didn't expect any special treatment but it   
would be nice to be acknowledged for all the hard work and long hours she put into this damn   
company. Somehow, She'd prove herself to him, if it took the rest of her life to do it.  
  



	3. Inc chapter 2

Title: Inc-Chapter 2  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://angelmoon.sinfree.net  
  
It's the strangest thing but I realized for the longest time this fanfic was uploaded with an entire section missing from the first part of chapter two.... And an important section too. This has to be one of the bigger boo boos I've made.  
  
  
A light tapping on the door of her office derailed her train of thought.   
"Come in," she said in her warm sweet and smooth as honey voice that matched everything about her. She had a calm relaxing way of talking and moving that was warm and seductive and had a devastating effect on most men and made children immediately warm up to her and made her cousins jealous. That was one of the things that still confused people who knew her. Her warm, gentle and friendly aura immediately drew people to her but still so often she felt as though she were alone in the world, no matter how many friends she had.  
The door gently pushed inward and a blonde head peeked in, glancing first at the desk in the center of the room, expecting to see Serena sitting there. She wasn't, but the blonde head stepped into the room when he saw her figure, softened by the warm light of the setting sun, standing by the window. Her curly blonde hair was hanging loose, resting gently in the curve of her lower back. She turned around slowly, smiling as she did so.  
"I can smell your cologne," she said. "I'd recognize it anywhere."  
"Hello Sere," Andrew said walking across the gray carpet of her office in long strides. Reaching her position on the other side of the office he placed his hands gently on her waist and bent his head to kiss her on the cheek. She turned in his arms to face him. She stared up into his bright and cheerful blue eyes so much like her own, as if trying in vain to find something that would say she should love him more than she did. She felt nothing but friendship and she felt guilty for what she would do to him. She kept her guilt at bay by assuring herself that someday he'd thank her.   
"I figured you'd be working late again. I thought I'd drag you out of here before they lock you inside the building," he said, his eyes twinkling and a bright smile on his face that would have made many other women sigh.  
"I know you probably forgot to eat again so how about you call it a day and I take you out?"  
She considered turning him down to finish her work but she knew they'd have to talk, and now was as good a time as any.  
"Sure just let me get all my stuff together and I'll meet you wherever you want to go. I think we should both drive our cars; I don't want to leave my car here."   
"Yeah that's fine. Meet me at Mystique in fifteen minutes. Does that give you enough time?" Andrew asked.   
"Yeah that's great." She kissed him on the cheek and he turned around and casually strolled out of her office.  
After he'd left she returned to her desk and immediately began going about the task of returning the files she had been working on to their respective folders and closing all the applications and files she had opened on her computer. She mumbled to herself as she cleaned up the mess on her desk trying to remind herself just where each file went. She finished in less time than she'd expected and strolling over to the door, she opened it and looked around her office one last time, making sure there was nothing out of place.  
With her pocket book slung over one shoulder, she made a decision to stop in the bathroom to check on her appearance before leaving the building. She was a professional and she intended to look like one at all times if possible, there were just some things your mother taught you that you couldn't escape. She pushed open the metallic silver doors of the ladies room and made her way across the pale blue tiled floors to stand in front of the blue and silver metal sinks, a theme that continued through the entire building making it seem modern and sterile.   
She stared at her reflection in large mirrors before her, checking the status of her makeup. Her eyes were tired and under them she could see the beginnings of dark circles reminding her that she needed more sleep than she was getting presently. In the meanwhile however there was always the miracle created by makeup.   
Working in the stressful corporate environment, she had learned how to conceal her weariness with a little makeup. Previously she hadn't needed much but when she had begun working for Kyler Inc. fighting hard to get her point across, she had quickly learned that a good night's sleep was a privilege, one which she did not have presently. If she wanted to get ahead and make herself recognized by her father and her peers as more than a pretty face she would have to forego her wish for eight hours of restful sleep and take what she could get.  
She pulled a small travel-sized bottle of concealer and foundation from her pocket book and made an effort to conceal the signs of weariness from beneath her eyes. She was successful and she stepped back from the mirror to get a good look at her reflection. She had a done a good job and staring back at her were to bright blue orbs set in her beautiful oval face with hardly any sign of the lack of sleep from which she suffered. Satisfied, she straightened her outfit, returned the bottle to her bag, and walked confidently out of the restroom and to her car.  
  
A single skin-toned stocking covered foot in gray heels stepped out of the dark BMW, followed by its twin a few seconds later. The uniformed valet couldn't help staring at the long legs, as the woman to whom they belonged got out of the car and pulled herself up to full height to reveal a face far more impressive than her legs. She reached out a delicate hand, handing him her car keys and giving him a gentle smile.  
The valet nervously adjusted his glasses with one hand as he took the keys with the other. He knew this woman; she came here often with that tall handsome man that made him jealous. No matter how many times he saw her however, she always made him nervous, with her gorgeous smile and bright blue eyes, and those incredibly long, well-toned legs of hers.   
She always smiled at him; she was one of the few people who was always nice to him. Most of the other people who came to the restaurant just tossed him their keys and ignored him. She always said hello to him too and called him by his name. He loved the way she said it too. 'Daryl' rolled off her tongue smoothly. No one else ever made his name sound so important.  
He watched wistfully as she walked into the restaurant leaving him to park her car. Turning around, he faced one of the other valets who always teased him about the crush he had on Miss Kyler. He sneered at the guy hoping to intimidate him into going away, but being at least five inches shorter and a good thirty pounds lighter, added to his protruding front teeth and wild brown hair, he looked more like a rabid bunny than anything else, forcing the other valet into fits of laughter.  
Daryl sighed and got into the drivers seat of Serena's BMW. What he wouldn't do to be that handsome blonde fiancée of hers. Most men would do just about anything to have a woman like that. Miss Kyler and her fiancée were the two luckiest people in the world.  
  
"Ahh, Miss Kyler" the maitre d said smiling at her. "Right this way. Monsieur Davenport is waiting for you."  
Serena smiled and nodded at the man. For the first time since she had been coming to the restaurant she felt nervous. She was going over just what she wanted to say to Andrew and when. Should she say it before dinner, after dinner and before dessert, during dinner or right before they left? And then there was of course how she would phrase it. She'd done too much thinking today already and this further stress was giving her a large headache.  
She followed the short, dark-haired French-Canadian man to the table. The maitre-d, whose name was Lacroix, tried to pass himself of as French, this being a French restaurant, but he was really from Quebec. Most people never knew of course, but having talked to the man while waiting for Andrew one night, she had found out quite a bit about him. He'd even shown her a picture of his two adorable daughters and baby son and his pretty red-haired American wife.   
Serena arrived at the table and Lacroix pulled out a chair for her and she sat down facing Andrew smiling nervously at him. She hoped he wouldn't notice her nervousness but her hopes were shattered when she picked up the glass of dry white wine that Andrew had ordered for her. Her hands shook and she almost spilled the wine all over the ornate white tablecloth. She hoped the subdued lighting would cover the wild nervousness displayed in her eyes.  
Andrew watched her. Something was definitely wrong. She had been a bit distant when he had gone to her office earlier and he had never seen her as nervous as she appeared now. He reached out a strong hand and steadied her arm and removed the glass from her fingers.   
"OK. What's wrong? I have never seen you this nervous before," Andrew asked, his deep voice warm and caring. He was unnerved by her sudden nervousness; she was always so calm and collected. Maybe all that time she was putting in at the company was finally catching up to her. Sometimes he had to remind her that she needed to sleep.  
"I... well, it's nothing. Wait, I need to tell you something. I'm too unnerved to sit through an entire meal like this."  
"OK, he said calmly. What's wrong?" he couldn't imagine what she h ad to tell him that could possibly have upset her this much."  
"I feel as though we're making a huge mistake here. Well it's not really a big mistake, but it doesn't feel right and I think we could both do better." she stopped as she realized she was rambling.  
"I think you're right. We should definitely have ordered the red wine instead of the white. Red wine goes far better with the rack of lamb with figs I was planning on ordering," Andrew teased.   
"Andrew! I'm trying to be serious!"  
"Sorry." He smiled. "Continue sweetheart."   
"Andrew, what I'm trying to say is, I don't think we should get married." She exhaled audibly and waited for him to react. She stared into his bright blue eyes and waited for an expression that would tell her just how he felt. She thought she heard him heard him let out a breath, a reaction she had not expected. Maybe he thought she was getting cold feet.  
He was calm and collected when he asked her why. He didn't seem particularly upset. She should be relieved but she wasn't sure just what she should feel about his odd reaction. She wondered if he was taking her seriously.  
"Well," Serena began "I don't love you Andrew." She hadn't meant to be that blunt but it was too late for regrets; she could only hope to remedy matters by explaining herself. Andrew went still, but there was still no other reaction. He remained quiet.  
"When we were younger, I had an enormous crush on you," she continued hoping to ease the discomfort she was feeling by explaining as much as possible In a short time, "You were gorgeous, charming, and all around perfect. My parents approved and I was hopelessly infatuated with you. You swept me off my feet and I loved every moment of it. As we got closer and more comfortable in our relationship though those feelings began to fade and although I love spending time with you I knew I didn't love you the way that I should love the man I was going to marry.  
You know I was driving one day and I saw this couple and their two kids and I realized I had no vision of you and me with children. I couldn't even imagine us as a family. I always thought that when I fell in love I'd be blissfully happy, we'd have children and life would be perfect and I'd wake up an old woman someday with you by my side and a dozen grandchildren. I know that's unrealistic and quite likely a product of too many romance novels in high school but I can't really see a future with us together   
Every moment we spend time with each other, I feel as though I trust you. I can tell you anything, but I couldn't love you as a husband when everyday it seems like you're more of my best friend. I can even say I love you, not as a lover but as my dearest and closest friend.   
That's why I can't marry you. I don't love you and I don't believe you love me. We could probably survive a marriage but would it be what we really want?"  
She leaned back and took in a deep breath. She had said what she had come to say and now she waited for his reaction. He seemed to be contemplating what she had said. He swirled the wine in the glass he held in his hand and leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed in concentration. There was a moment of complete silence, one that made her incredibly uncomfortable.  
He took a sip from the glass and put it down on the table. His brow smoothed out and he once more appeared cool, calm, and collected. He gave her a gentle smile, which was more shocking to Serena than anything else. She was tempted to ask him if he'd heard what she'd just said but she instead allowed the silence between them to continue.  
The silence was broken when he said calmly, "I understand."  
"You do?" she questioned skeptically.  
"Of course I do Sere. I love you but not as a husband should. I enjoy being with you but there is something missing isn't there?" he paused as if in thought, relaxing in his seat. "I'd hoped that it was just a phase in our relationship where we'd gotten comfortable, but you are right. I guess I was just nervous about having to go back to being single. I'm glad you had the guts to stop this before we made a mistake, I'm not sure I would have. I must say though I will miss you."  
"You don't have to miss me too much. You're still the best friend I've ever had."  
"Yes. I think we should still be friends for your sake. You need someone to remind you to eat and when to leave work."   
He smiled one of his fantastic grins at her and she returned it with one of her own. She took his hand, which had been resting on the table in her owned and kissed the back of it.   
"Thanks for making this easy for me." She said.  
"I don't think I've ever had someone kiss my hand. I could get used to this," he said playfully. "Anyway what would you like to have for dinner?"  
  
As Serena and Andrew stared at the food in front of them that seemed too pretty to eat, a questioning look came over Andrew's face.   
"Sere, did you tell your family that we're calling off the wedding?"  
"No, not yet. Why?"  
"Sere, come on. You can't really be that tired."  
"Oh damn!" Serena muttered. "Now I'll have to put up with my annoying cousins. Worst yet, Linda just got married, so Aunt Melissa will be gloating incessantly at the annual Memorial Day picnic, not to mention Vivienne and Tammy." She was annoyed now. She could just see them all gloating and giggling, her cousins, if only she could find a way to get out of it.  
"Actually, I could still go with you and we could keep the engagement idea going until then and then ease your parents into it. The rest of your family may eventually notice but you won't have to tell them directly"  
"Would you? Anything to keep my mother off my back until I come up with something to tell her."  
"Sure, why not? Your mother likes me. I can handle her."  
"Thanks. I finally get her to pay attention to me and now I wish she'd stop. One can only talk so much about flowers, caterers, and cake flavors without being completely soured on the idea of a wedding. It's enough to make me wish she had continued to ignore me."  
"Well it will be over soon enough when she finds out there won't be a wedding."  
"Well considering I don't believe I've seen her as happy as she's been since she started planning my wedding, I wonder just what her reaction will be. She might just go into shock."   
  
Setsuna sat at her desk looking through the appointments and   
schedule book. She tossed her straight black hair over her shoulder before   
refocusing her attention on the book before her. Unlike so many of the   
other corporate secretaries she didn't have the opportunity to file her nails   
at her desk or gather with them around the water cooler and gossip about   
their bosses and their various co-workers. She didn't mind though. She   
could hardly be considered the average secretary.  
  
While, for the most part, she maintained a highly professional   
relationship with her boss in the office, she was also one of his best and   
oldest friends. That fact alone would have shocked many people. It was   
difficult enough to believe that the man had friends let alone one of the   
female sex. His relationships with women, if they could be called that, were   
notoriously short, numerous and never platonic.   
  
She had known him for long enough to not be unnerved by his   
presence as most of his employees were. He had the amazing ability to   
make the toughest of men feel like the wimp on the school playground. He   
was demanding, cold, and distant and still the few women who worked for   
him found themselves fantasizing as soon as his back was turned and they   
were no longer the focus of his unnerving stare that left some grown men   
stammering and quaking.  
  
It wasn't that he was unreasonable. He simply had higher standards   
than most. In fact being his secretary was an enviable position. He was,   
after all, the CEO and not to mention one of the most beautiful male   
specimens she had ever come across. His rather distinct personality and   
stern demeanor only served to make him more attractive and her, the envy   
all the other women on the floor.  
  
That was just one of the reasons she enjoyed her job so much.   
Although she often felt embarrassed by the way some of the other   
secretaries behaved when he was around, she had to admit, she enjoyed   
any opportunity to watch grown men snivel, quake and make fools of   
themselves before him. There were times however that she worried about   
his conscience, or rather his seeming lack of one not to mention his   
seemingly endless supply of arrogance. She found herself wincing as he   
bought valuable companies, some of which had been around for longer   
than he'd been alive, split them into smaller pieces, and sold them for a lot   
more than the original purchase price. The owners were almost always less   
than pleased and Setsuna could hardly help feeling somewhat sorry for   
them.  
  
She adjusted the headphones that she wore instead of having to pick   
up the phone. Jackson Phillips wanted to arrange a meeting with   
Derencourt. She would call back to confirm. Looking at her behind her   
desk, one would immediately assume she had a boring job but the   
assumption would be wrong. Watching Darien work was a wonder. He was   
nothing short of brilliant. Most people didn't react as violently as Mr.   
Vicente had a few nights ago. Few dared; though he hardly ever raised his   
voice. His broad shoulders, emotional distance, and hard-balled business   
tactics made him extremely intimidating to everyone. Few had seen him   
truly angry, but having seen it herself, she knew better than most how   
intimidating and damn scary he could be at times. As long as she'd known   
him he had been that way. It must be genetic; his sister Michelle was very   
much like him.  
  
Most of those with whom he worked knew very little about him except   
that his harsh but successful business tactics that had gotten him where he   
was today. With success came a certain level of fame and in social circles it   
was not only his business abilities for which he was renowned, rather it was   
a rather appealing combination of good looks and money, both of which   
attracted many beautiful women.  
  
A while ago Setsuna had been one of the women who had stared at   
him in awe of his looks as well as the power he exuded. She had naturally   
known she had no chance with a man like him and so moved her interest   
on to more approachable men resulting in the engagement ring she now   
proudly wore on her left hand. Even if she had believed she had a chance   
with him she found him somewhat lacking in warmth.   
  
He didn't appear to get close to anyone. She didn't even ever   
remember seeing him smile recently. That would definitely have put a   
damper on anything she might have felt for him. Theirs was an interesting   
relationship. He could be a strange man, but she loved him all the same.   
She knew better than to meddle with his personal life but sometimes she   
couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't a woman he needed to put a smile on   
his face, one that wasn't merely a result of good sex, but of true love. Of   
course good sex couldn't hurt either.  
  
She made a note in the appointment book and looked up to find a   
tall and handsome gentleman standing before her. He looked somewhat   
familiar. He was tall with wide shoulders and a head of neat silver hair. He   
seemed to be in his mid-forties but his eyes said he was much older and by   
the look of him he was a successful businessman, one she felt she should   
probably recognize.   
  
"Hello, I'm Mr. Kyler," the man said in a deep demanding voice. He   
was obviously used to being in charge. On hearing the name she   
immediately recognized him as the owner of Kyler Inc. She remembered   
his appointment.   
  
"Yes of course Mr. Kyler." She pressed a button on the telephone.   
  
"Mr. Derencourt, Mr. Kyler is here to see you."  
  
"Good," a deep voice replied. "Send him in."   
  
Mr. Kyler didn't bother to wait for her to say anything else, or guide   
him to the office as she usually did. His long legs strode across the   
carpeted lounge towards the large double doors that led into Darien's   
office. Setsuna wondered to herself if all CEO's were as arrogant and   
demanding as the two now sitting in the office to her right. She sighed and   
went back to work.  
  
  
"Mr. Kyler," Darien said calmly, inviting the older gentleman to take a   
seat, with a gesture of his hand.  
  
"Derencourt," Kyler nodded stiffly, and sat down.  
  
"What can I do for you Mr. Kyler?"  
  
"I think the question is what we can do for each other."  
  
"Darien raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He doubted that   
anything this man had to say would be of interest to him. He was curious   
as to why a successful businessman like Kyler would want to come to him.   
He had other things in mind however.   
  
For one thing, he needed a haircut. His hair was falling into his eyes   
again and although some women found it incredibly sexy he still needed   
use of his eyes. There was also the fact that it was already four in the   
afternoon and he hadn't eaten anything all day.  
  
"Why exactly are you here, Mr. Kyler?"  
  
"I have a business proposition for you that I think would benefit both   
of us."  
  
"I sense this is going to be a while. Would you mind if we continued   
this discussion at "Gerard's? Would that be inconvenient for you?" he asked   
not really caring one way or the other. He was hungry. Business could be   
conducted anywhere.  
  
"Actually, I think that would be far more preferable. My driver is   
waiting outside. Is that acceptable to you?"  
  
Darien nodded his agreement. He could tell that Kyler was not the   
least bit intimidated by him; that made him one of very few. He knew of   
Kyler and had met him once or twice at the Orchid Charity Benefit Party his   
wife was in charge of, an event he was obligated to attend but did not really   
enjoy. Were it not for the press attention he received for his company   
because of the large check he usually wrote, he would not bother to attend.   
Press attention affected stock price. Of course they really didn't care as   
much about his company as they did about his relationship with whatever   
supermodel-quality beauty was on his arm at the moment. He also recalled   
meeting Kyler at the Warren Gentleman's club when he had first moved his   
headquarters to San Francisco.  
  
He and Kyler definitely traveled in the same social circles. Kyler   
however commanded a great deal more respect, his family having owned   
Kyler inc. for generations. In Darien however, other businessmen saw   
something to fear and dislike. His business tactics were cold, ruthless, and   
enormously successful, and that was the source of any respect paid him.   
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was always looking over   
his shoulder and some banker was always ready to kiss his ass. Despite the   
fact in past years Kyler had been just as demanding and intimidating,   
Darien was far less liked; he was after all a corporate raider, the worst kind   
of predator. Kyler still intimidated many, but over the years people had   
grown to respect him, as an honored member of the San Francisco   
business community.  
  
  
Darien had yet to earn that type of respect from his fellow   
businessmen, nor did he really expect it. Many of them loathed him as   
much as they feared him. They knew of his reputation for buying out   
companies, and liquidating everything, hostile takeovers, and the like.   
Darien had an eye for business of which they were envious. He bought and   
sold companies as if they were merely fruit at the market.  
  
He was representative of everything they wished they were and   
everything they loathed. He had built himself up from nothing; he was   
young, handsome, wealthy, successful, and free. They feared him not only   
for his business reputation but also for the simple reason that they knew   
nothing of him. Were it not for his wealth and charitable contributions, they   
would have done their best to keep him out of their social circles. To their   
best knowledge he had none of their family history or long-standing   
position in society.   
  
To top things off, he had attracted the kind of press to the business   
community the likes of which they had never seen. Stunning good looks   
coupled with his mysterious past made him the press' champion. He had   
come out of nowhere to dominate the business world. He had what Bill   
Gates never had, good looks, and the attention of hundreds of women.  
Knowing the general dislike that many businessmen had for him,   
Darien was curious as to what had brought one of the top businessmen in   
the country to approach him. His curiosity would not let the matter rest so   
he brought himself to ask the question when he and Kyler were comfortably   
seated in the limo instead of waiting until they arrived at dinner.  
  
"So, Mr. Kyler," he began, masking any curiosity he felt. "What was it   
that brought you to my office?"  
  
"As I said before, I have a business proposition for you."  
  
" What exactly is the nature of this proposition?" Darien asked raising   
his eyebrows.  
  
"I would like you to consider a merger." Darien was surprised but he   
hid it well.  
  
"I know this comes as a shock, but I think it would benefit us both."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Kyler Inc. is a longstanding, reputable and highly successful   
company, but to be quite frank things aren't exactly at their height right   
now but we're almost ready to expand once more. We're losing ground to   
our competitors right now but a merger with you would ensure Kyler Inc   
returns to its rightful position at the top of the market. I don't want you to   
think this is just some rescue operation you would stand to gain a lot in   
profits as well and my gain would simply be keeping the company out of   
the hands of others whose intentions are less than grand. "  
  
"If I'm not wrong, Mr. Kyler, Kyler Inc. is a family corporation. The   
Kylers still own a large percentage of the stock. Why would you want to   
merge and take away the corporation from your family?"  
  
"I am doing what is best for the corporation, and my family. I have no   
son or nephews or anyone else of in the family with any skill to take over   
from me and I'd hate to know that my company was run by a group of   
pretentious weaklings. My people are skilled but they aren't good leaders. I   
knew at some point this corporation would leave my family, and there is   
little I can do to avoid that. None of my nephews are good businessmen.   
Although Kyler Inc. is doing well, we are at risk for a hostile takeover and   
the person interested in such a takeover is the last man on earth I would   
like to see running Kyler Inc. His name is J.T. Montgomery. His business   
tactics are unsavory and he is rumored to have dealings with organized   
crime. I do not want to see Kyler inc. swallowed up by him."  
  
"You know, people say the same about me. They claim my business   
tactics are suspect. You don't think the same? Or am I just the best of the   
worst? Why not go to one of your long-standing friends like Davenport? I'm   
sure he could lend you the money to get you out of this slump.  
  
Derencourt was obviously well informed. It was part of what made   
him a great businessman. He had seen right through the façade and   
understood just what this was about. Kyler needed the backing of the banks   
to finance the expansion Kyler Inc. needed to survive and he didn't have   
that right now."  
  
"I don't want to depend on Davenport, he's not the most reliable man   
I know. I like the man but he doesn't have a great head for business and   
besides his business and mine have nothing in common, he wouldn't care   
to invest in it. It's time he let his son run the company. Andrew would be   
much better at it. Besides it's too much money to risk investing. A merger   
is a secure future for both of us that will ensure the backing of the banks on   
a long-term basis   
  
I have nothing against your business tactics. You're good at what you   
do. I like your style, your business interests are varied, and you're the only   
one I can trust to take on Montgomery."  
  
"Ok. I see your point but why come to me on your own?" Darien   
didn't see completely. From the way he'd spoken it sounded as though he   
didn't care for his daughter in the least. In fact it sounded as though he   
had something against women in business. " What about your board of   
directors?"  
  
"They are not yet aware of the threat to the company. This   
information isn't exactly readily available and as you said I own majority of   
the stock, it is my choice." Darien caught the meaning behind that   
statement easily. However Kyler had gotten the information it certainly   
hadn't been above board.   
  
"I don't want the information to get out and cause a panic. I can   
sense that some of my best workers are already uncertain as to whether   
they want to stay with the company as it is. They are already receiving   
offers from Montgomery. If I can manage a merger with you before   
Montgomery can get his claws into a large portion of my stock and my   
employees, we both stand to gain."  
  
"This is most certainly an intriguing offer, Mr. Kyler," Darien said. The   
limo had pulled up in front of the restaurant and Darien was already   
stepping out of the door, the doorman had opened for him. "Why don't we   
continue this conversation inside?"  
  
They continued into the restaurant, where, despite their lack of   
reservations, they were seated immediately as they were both well known   
and appreciated customers. Darien glanced over the menu, but he already   
knew what he wanted, so it had been unnecessary. Both men ordered their   
meals and Darien ordered a red wine Merlot to go with his steak.  
  
"As I was saying," Darien continued, "That is most definitely an   
intriguing offer. I had never even considered the possibilities of a merger; I   
don't think I can make that decision right away. I will have go over your   
company's records and take some time to think about it and get back to   
you as soon as possible. I will of course respect you wishes and keep this   
between us."  
  
Kyler nodded in acceptance and when their meal arrived they   
continued their discussion, keeping it to general business, theirs as well as   
that of their competitors. Darien was really beginning to like Kyler. In him   
he saw his future, or what he hoped his future would be like. Kyler on the   
other hand saw his younger self in Darien. Despite the differences in their   
backgrounds they had the same zeal for business and inner strength.   
Darien was the son his wife couldn't give him.  
  
  
Serena shoved another donut in her mouth. She had gotten no sleep   
last night and she had a pretty good idea that tomorrow's board meeting   
would be more stressful than she planned for. She would be the one to tell   
her father about their current situation.   
  
Kyler inc. stock price was down and if that wasn't enough of a   
problem, she suspected even bigger trouble. After some checking, She had   
discovered that a large percentage of Kyler stock had been bought up by at   
least two different unknown sources. At first sight that could have been a   
good thing, but such a large percentage of stock being bought at a time   
when stock prices were down could mean the beginning of a hostile   
takeover. Hopefully stock prices would rise and discourage anyone buying   
up stock for a hostile takeover.  
  
She let out an exasperated breath, causing her bangs to fly up, and   
threw herself back unto her couch. Adding to her stress the distribution   
department was having problems and she was expected to deal with it. She   
was very worried about the future of the company. She knew the moment   
she mentioned the problem, Davidson, her father's right hand man, would   
immediately suggest budget and departmental cuts something she knew to   
be a bad idea.  
  
The company should be trying to raise stock value by expanding   
instead of cutting. If the stock prices rose, it would be too valuable for   
anyone wishing to take over the company to risk spending on it without   
being guaranteed success, never mind the confidence it would inspire in   
stockholders that the company could handle itself. Besides cuts would   
mean loss of jobs and not to mention placing an enormous strain on the   
company's cash flow at a time when they could least afford it. Right now   
however, this was too much for her to handle. There was an up side   
however, her family still owned a majority of the stock so unless they could   
be convinced to sell a percentage, the company should be somewhat safe,   
she hoped.  
  
She placed her hands to her temples and massaged them in circles.   
There was nothing she could think of to do at the moment. She was not   
looking forward to this fight with Davidson, knowing her father would   
probably take his side. As she sat on her beige couch with her feet propped   
on the glass coffee table, sinking deep into the cushions, the doorbell rang.   
She groaned, unwilling to rise from her comfortable position on the couch.  
  
"Coming," she mumbled more for her own motivation than to anyone   
waiting outside the door. She managed to haul her body off the couch and   
over to the door. She swung the door open dismissing all the rules of safety   
she knew she should have followed. Being killed by someone outside her   
door would be a welcome relief from the pounding in her head.  
  
Outside the door were two gorgeous women a glamorous blonde who   
could almost have passed herself off as Serena's twin, at least in facial   
features, were it not for a their differences in style. As far as bodies were   
concerned Serena was more endowed in the curves department, while Mina   
was sharper and more toned, but most people hardly took note unless the   
girls made it a point to show off their physical characteristics. Beside the   
gorgeous blonde stood equally glamorous raven-haired beauty in an   
expensive Ralph Lauren silk suit Serena had been hoping to get in black.  
  
"Hi!" the excited blonde said inviting herself and her friend beside her   
in before Serena could mutter a word. "Andrew told us you were probably   
feeling a bit stressed," she continued, "so we decided that we would come   
over and give you a break from all this work you always get caught up in."  
  
"You sure look like you could use it," the raven-haired girl added,   
pointing to the papers on the coffee table and the floor.  
  
"Would you look at this face," the blonde said pinching Serena's   
cheek and pointing her face at the other girl.  
  
"Tsk tsk tsk," the raven-haired girl muttered. "Serena dear you look   
absolutely horrible. Andrew was absolutely right; you most definitely need a   
break. It's a good thing that you already have a fiancée because there is no   
way you could get a guy to look at you when you look so, so..." She ran out   
of words as she pointed to Serena's sweat pants and T-shirt.  
  
"Never mind what she looks like now," the blonde began again, "that's   
all about to change."  
  
"I don't know what you're planning, Mina" Serena said addressing the   
blonde, "but you and Raye can leave me out of it." She made her way back   
to the couch and plopped herself down on it.  
  
"But you don't even know what we're planning," Mina said. She sat   
down on a chair facing Serena her back turned away from the glass doors   
leading to the balcony overlooking the swimming pool in the courtyard.   
Adjusting her flared peach skirt around her legs, she tossed her long   
straight blonde hair over her shoulder.  
  
"Yes, Serena," Raye added. "You have no idea what we're planning, so   
you have no reason to refuse, not that we have any intention of giving you   
that opportunity."  
  
Serena sighed. Turning them down would be tough, but it would have   
to be done.  
  
  
two hours later.  
  
  
"I can't believe you guys dragged me into this," Serena yelled trying   
to get her voice heard above the loud music.  
  
"Oh give it up. You know you're enjoying yourself," Mina yelled   
watching Raye dance with a tall handsome brown-haired guy."  
  
"That's besides the point," Serena yelled pulling at the bottom of her   
short white dress. Mina had put Serena's hair up in a French twist with   
curls surrounding her face and dragged her from her apartment to this   
club. At the moment both girls were taking a rest from dancing.   
Serena's slender, curvy body, in the figure hugging, spaghetti strap   
white dress had attracted quite a few dance partners. She had decided to   
take a break with Mina at the bar, Now she wasn't so sure it was a great   
idea as the bartender seemed to have a problem deciding whether he   
should be staring down hers or Mina's cleavage. Regardless of the   
bartender's eye problems, Serena had to admit she was enjoying herself,   
she hadn't given a thought to work since she had come into the nightclub.  
  
It was early in the morning but Darien was already in his office. He   
hadn't been particularly tired so he hadn't bothered to spend any extra   
time in bed. Setsuna, well aware of Darien's bad habits was already in his   
office. She was really more of a personal assistant than a secretary. She   
didn't min having to come in earlier than most people, she was, after all   
being paid more than enough to compensate.  
  
"I want to know everything there is to know about Kyler, his company   
  
and his family."  
Setsuna smiled. She was well ahead of him. When Kyler had come in   
yesterday she had an idea he had something serious coming up. Darien   
had explained the meeting last night on the phone, she had already   
gathered the necessary information.  
  
"I'm insulted that you think you needed to ask." She handed a file   
folder to him with everything he needed to know, including a few magazines   
with pictures of him and his family.  
  
"What would I do without you Susa?" He was constantly amazed at   
her resourcefulness.  
  
"Shrivel up and die most likely." She replied smiling.  
He read through the file quickly and quietly, efficiently absorbing all   
the information.  
  
"So he's sexist and traditional."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"He told me had no heirs to succeed him but he has a brilliant   
daughter who although she's young is probably competent enough to pick   
up where he left off. I guess he doesn't think so."  
  
"Serena Kyler. I guess he doesn't see her as a prospect. She's the   
princess of the Kyler family, about to marry the society prince himself,   
Andrew Davenport, heir apparent to Davenport Shipping."  
  
"I've met him a couplet times. She made a good choice although I   
can't help feeling they don't look right together."  
  
"What!" Setsuna said stunned. It wasn't like him to make notice of   
anything that didn't have something to do with business. There was also   
the fact that the statement was utterly ridiculous. "You would be the only   
one to think so. From what I see they seem like the perfect couple. Their   
families are friends they're both wealthy and gorgeous, from similar   
backgrounds and are supposedly very much in love."  
  
Darien frowned. "That's probably it. They're just a little too perfect.   
Perfection is not always a good thing."  
  
  
  
"Ugh," Serena groaned slowly. She rolled over in her bed and faced   
the blaring alarm clock. Her groan quickly developed into a loud scream as   
she realized the time. "Ahh!" She had fifteen minutes to get to the office and   
after that, only five minutes to get her notes together for the board   
meeting. "That's the last time I party on a work day," she mumbled as she   
hurriedly got dressed. Had she not had an innate ability to dress and drive   
at high speeds, albeit not at the same time, she would be tearing her hair   
out right now, instead she tore out of her apartment and was on her way to   
work.   
  
"Serena ran into her office with two minutes to make it to the board   
room. She tossed her pocket book unto her desk and grabbed her file   
folder and took off slamming her office door behind her. As she ran past   
the secretary's desk outside her office she quickly eked out a "Good   
Morning Molly." Molly shook her head and smiled, turning her attention   
back to her notes. It was going to be one of those mornings.  
  
Serena entered the large boardroom and took her place two places   
down on the right from her father. If she weren't so nervous she would have   
taken the time to appreciate the comfort of the new soft swivel chairs that   
had been recently ordered for the room. The first set had been rather   
painful on the back.   
  
Directly across from her sat Alexandra Summers one of the few   
female executives in the company and one of the few persons who made   
the short list of people at the company she considered friends. She was a   
very unusual woman. She wore gorgeous tailored pantsuits and for the   
most part seemed to be a very professional, strategic businesswoman.   
  
Serena however, knew she had a wild streak that appeared the moment she   
left the office, put on her sunglasses, and got into her red sports car,   
speeding out of the company parking lot to meet her girlfriend Michelle.   
Today she was wearing a black double-breasted pantsuit and as usual she   
was completely at ease in the room full of men. As the chief investment   
officer, Alex was an ally she could definitely use.  
  
Sitting next to her on her left was that sniveling idiot Brian Davies   
who somehow managed to do a passable job in Manufacturing. His tie was   
as usual askew and he had a crumb of whatever he had eaten for breakfast   
at the corner of his fat cheeks. No one could count on him for anything but   
agreeing with the majority. She disliked having to sit beside him but she   
could ignore his stuttering most of the time. Before she'd announced her   
engagement he had tortured her with his requests to have dinner with him.   
He had, she supposed assumed that marrying the bosses daughter would   
secure him a permanent influential spot on the board, if not a shot at   
senior VP and possibly president. Not bloody likely.  
  
On her right, next to her father was Alan Davidson, the thorn in her   
side. Her problem with him was indefinable. She couldn't quite give any   
reason why she disliked the man but she did. She had examined her   
feelings a while back and decided that she was definitely not jealous   
despite the fact that her father had chosen him over her and he was in the   
position any one with a sense of ambition would like to be in as the Senior   
Vice President. It was something else on a deeper more complex level of   
human social interaction.  
  
She had to admit that he was an excellent businessman. He knew his   
job and did it well. He was handsome with his light green-gray eyes, short   
dark curly hair, and a strong jaw line. He always looked as though he had   
stepped out of a men's magazine, his suits and ties were always perfect,   
his shoes shiny, nothing was ever out of place and yet there was something   
about him that unnerved her, something inside her distrusted him.  
  
Her father, on the other hand, trusted Aaron completely. He   
considered him his right hand man. He was her major obstacle. He and her   
father always seemed to agree and their agreement, most of the time, was   
in opposition to her ideas. This situation however demanded that she stand   
her ground and do battle with this man.  
  
When her father had taken his seat, and the board meeting had been   
called to order, various minor matters were settled and she once more had   
to listen to Davies' sniveling as he discussed his situation in manufacturing.   
Gordon Beale wasn't present so she had temporarily taken over his work in   
distribution and explained her problems and solution, which was easily   
agreed on by everyone. Dealing with these minor problems prepared her to   
take the bull by the horns when new business was ready to be discussed.  
When new business was called for, Serena took a deep breath and   
began to speak.  
  
"There is a pressing matter that needs to be discussed immediately,"   
she began. "All eyes turned toward her. "As we all know our stock value is   
presently down." Before she could be interrupted she added, "I know that   
can be viewed as a temporary fluctuation in the market, which it just might   
be. That is not the problem on my mind however, in fact there is no real   
evidence of a problem, only the suggestion that there could be one in the   
future."   
  
She glanced around the boardroom. Although the eyes that were   
looking around seemed attentive, she knew she should stop mincing words   
and get to the point.  
  
"Ten percent of our stock was recently acquired by two   
different unknown sources. Using two different sources could simply be a   
cover for a single company to acquire a good percentage of our stock for   
the purposes of a hostile takeover." She let out a breath as she heard her   
co-workers whispers of surprise and worry.  
  
Her father took control of the meeting and ordered everyone to calm   
down and be quiet. He then addressed her with a question she had been   
expecting. "Do you have any real proof of this Serena?" He had hoped   
something like this wouldn't happen but Serena always had a way of   
meddling that grated on his nerves half the time. Mostly she could be   
ignored but not today. Her queries could easily stir up a panic and ease the   
way for Montgomery to move in.  
  
"No, not really but I think regardless of whether there is a threat to   
the company or not we should ignore it and focus all our energies on   
building up a defense and increasing our stock value."  
  
Her father surprised her by agreeing with her, as did the rest of the   
board. Davidson however raised the suggestion that she had in vain hoped   
she wouldn't have to hear.  
  
  
"I think we should begin by cutting expenses and closing some of the   
less needed distribution outlets." He didn't look for approval expecting his   
suggestion to be easily accepted.  
  
"Actually," Serena interrupted, "I don't think that's a very good idea."  
  
"Why not?" Davies questioned mildly surprised that anyone should   
  
have disagreed with him. "It is important we cut back on expenses and   
focus all our attention on building our defenses against a possible   
takeover."  
  
"Cutting back would reduce our cash flow," Serena replied. "What we   
need to do right now is to expand and increase our stock value as much as   
possible, reinvesting as much cash as we can spare in reaching more   
customers and increasing our profits."  
  
"Serena is absolutely right," Alex put in for Serena's defense. "We   
have been playing it too safe, now is the time put all our efforts into   
increasing our cash flow and stock value through expansion."  
  
The other members of the board had looks of consideration on their   
faces but they seemed to understand and agree with Serena's idea. The   
real decision as to whether or not the idea would be accepted rested on her   
father and Davidson's shoulders. Davidson looked as though he would   
object again but her father cut in.  
  
"I agree with you Serena, for the most part. Your plan seems very   
sound; I doubt there is any cause for concern however." Addressing each   
board member he said, "I want each of you to have departmental meetings   
and when next we meet we will discuss each departments plans for   
expansion and the overall direction we will take. I do not however, want you   
causing any panic or giving employees any reason to worry." He was glad   
Serena had averted attention from the takeover. If only she knew the   
trouble she had saved him.  
  
For a while longer they discussed possible strategies for expansion   
and even Davies got around to participating although Serena doubted he   
shared her point of view. It no longer mattered however. She felt an elation   
she knew to be a direct result of what she felt she had gained today. She   
felt as though she had taken one more step to gaining her fathers' respect   
and admiration. It had made her day. For the rest of the day, after the   
meeting, she felt a sense of satisfaction that made her unable to   
concentrate. For the first time in a long while she left work early and   
decided to have another fun evening; she deserved it after all.  
  
Serena ran up the stairs of the Spanish-style apartment building to   
the second floor. It was a strange building of only four floors that consisted   
of only eight large studio apartments. It had been hell trying to get the   
apartment, as there had been many other applicants; it was also very   
expensive as it was very unusual, spacious and quiet.   
  
She was amazed that she was actually home while the sun was still   
up. In her haste to get up the stairs and make a few phone calls to her   
friends she tripped over one of the steps and almost fell over.   
"So that's what they mean by falling up the stairs," a familiar voice   
said, taking a hold of one arm and helping her up.  
  
"Hey Drew!" she greeted Andrew more excitedly than she had in ages.   
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, Lita wanted my sister to make sure you're eating good food so   
she sent over something from her restaurant. Mina couldn't make it so she   
asked if I could drop it off for her. I certainly didn't expect you to be home   
anytime soon. You're not working overtime, hell must have frozen over."  
Serena punched him lightly in the arm.  
  
"Actually I've had a very good day. My father finally agreed with something  
I said despite Davidson's objections. So I was thinking of going out and having   
some fun for a change. Your sister and Rei inspired me last night."  
  
"Really?" Andrew said raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yes, really."  
  
"You mean you actually had fun?"  
  
"Hey I have fun sometimes," she said defensively.  
  
"Whatever you say," Andrew said.  
  
"Anyway," Serena said pretending to sound hurt, "Is your sister free   
tonight? I was hoping to return her favor and take her and the other girls   
out for a night on the town."  
  
"A girls night out, no fair. Don't you think the men have a right to   
have fun too?"  
  
"Well if you bring the guys I'll get the girls."  
  
"It's a deal. There's someone I want you to meet provided I can get   
him away from his work. Like you he's a workaholic."  
  
"Who is he?"  
  
"He's... never mind we'll keep that a mystery for now."  
  
"Andrew, you know I hate mysteries and surprises."  
  
Andrew grinned mischievously. "I know," he said indicating that he   
was doing it just to tick her off and not so much for any mystery.  
She punched him in the arm as payback.  
  
"Just for that I just might ask him to keep his name a mystery until   
the end of the night."  
  
"Fine. Why should I care anyway?"  
  
"Oh you will," Andrew said with a sly smile that bothered Serena. He   
was enjoying teasing her. She put it out of her mind though and got on to   
the next subject.  
  
"How about we all have dinner and see a movie?"  
  
"Sounds good to me," Andrew replied. 


	4. Inc Chapter 3

Title: Inc-Chapter 3  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
  
"Hi girls," Serena greeted her friends. She walked over to the front of   
the restaurant from the front of the pizza parlor where she had parked her   
car. Standing in front of the restaurant all dressed casually, were her   
friends, Mina, Rei, Lita, and Ami.  
  
She walked over to Ami, a petite girl with dark blue-black hair and   
gave her a hug. It had been a while since she had last seen her. Ami, the   
genius among them had been to a medical seminar in Germany and had   
only come back two days ago. She was a doctor at the best hospital in San   
Francisco and the youngest one on staff.  
  
She thanked Lita for the dinner she had brought her. Lita always took   
care of her. The tall brunette was in the middle of expanding her chain of   
restaurants. She already had two within the San Francisco area and she   
was opening two more in Los Angeles and another in Palm Springs.   
Together they made an odd group of successful women. Rei and   
Mina although born into wealthy families like Serena's, had taken   
command of their own wealth in a rather subtle manner. Both had taken   
their inheritance and invested it in a variety of successful ventures, leaving   
their days almost completely free, although they were permanently   
attached to their global access cell phones.   
  
"Where is Andrew?" Serena asked Mina.  
  
"He's not here yet. I think he's meeting Darien and then they'll be   
coming here."  
  
"Hey he's your fiancée," Rei began teasingly, "Shouldn't you know   
where he is?"  
  
Serena chose to ignore the question, as it didn't require an answer.   
"So his name's Darien."  
  
"Yeah, didn't Andrew tell you?" Mina asked.  
  
"He refused to tell me. He knows I don't like suspense so he decided   
to have a little fun. I'll get him back though."  
  
"Since when did you and Andrew get this playful?" Lita asked.  
  
"Yeah Serena," Rei questioned, "What's changed? You seem happier."  
  
"I wouldn't say happier. I still have that Memorial Day picnic to worry   
about. Things are better for me though, my father finally agreed with   
something I said despite Davis' disagreement."  
  
"That is quite an accomplishment. I don't know why you put up with   
that job," Rei said. "If you're not being respected you really should quit and   
join us investors," she said smilingly, gesturing to Mina and herself.  
  
"I like my job thank you very much. I like working for my money   
rather than the other way around. I feel like I'm accomplishing something."  
  
"I know what you mean, Lita said to her. "I would never give up   
working at the restaurant even though I could appoint a head chef to take   
my place. I like handling the food and the business. It's what I do."  
  
"Oh come on it's not like we don't have anything to do," Mina   
defended, we simply like having a bit more time to enjoy the pleasures in   
life."  
  
Their conversation was cut short when Ami drew their attention to   
the approaching black Mercedes.   
  
"I hate that car," Serena said.  
  
"Does Andrew know that?" Rei asked.  
  
"Of course he does. He loves it though. I simply think he's too   
handsome and too young to be driving around a car that looks like it   
belongs to his dad."  
  
The other girls smiled and watched the car park in front of the   
restaurant.  
  
"Whoa!" Lita said as she watched two men get out of the car. She was   
taking in the view of the really tall dark and handsome guy that got out of   
the passenger side of Andrew's car. He was wearing blue jeans and a white   
shirt but the way he carried himself on him managed to look businesslike   
and formal. He had on sunglasses over which fell a few locks of black hair.   
  
"He doesn't look like any old boyfriend I've ever had."  
  
"No he definitely does not. I've met male models that weren't that   
gorgeous," Rei said in a low tone as she pushed her sunglasses down her   
nose to get a better look.  
  
Even Ami who was usually reserved gazed at the tall dark-haired   
stranger approaching them. Mina simply smiled at the other girl's   
reactions. Having met him before, her sense of awe at the approaching   
perfect male specimen was somewhat reduced although not by much.  
Mina glanced over to see Serena's reaction. Serena simply pushed a   
blonde curl out of her eyes and frowned. Something about the man   
unnerved her. Even at this distance she got a sense of danger coming from   
him. It was the sort of danger that attracted rather than repelled.  
Mina was amazed.  
  
"Serena you can't possibly be that devoted to   
Andrew that you don't see how absolutely gorgeous this guy is!" She said   
very surprised.  
  
"My reaction has nothing to do with Andrew. This guy she paused. "I   
don't know, even from here I almost feel like I should be wary around him.   
Didn't I see him at that Charity Ball a while back?"  
  
"Probably," Amy replied. "He's dangerous alright," Ami said. "That's   
Darien Derencourt, the infamous CEO of NGT. He's a corporate raider, and   
one of the best and the most feared. Everyone's been making a big deal out   
of him; in fact he's listed on the sexiest bachelors in America list.   
Unfortunately for all those husband-seeking women, he's apparently   
determined to remain single. He's always with a different woman."  
  
"You seem to know a lot about him Ami, Lita teased." Ami blushed.  
  
"I read the papers, besides just because I'm engaged doesn't mean I   
can't look." Ami had been engaged to a computer engineer Greg Vermeer   
for about a year and everyone was just waiting for the two to set a date.  
  
"You know Serena, I heard he had a meeting with your father the   
other day. They were seen at Gerard's having what appeared to be a   
business dinner. Is there something wrong at Kyler Inc.?" Rei asked. "You   
know Derencourt isn't exactly someone I would expect your father to be   
friends with. The only time Derencourt has dealings with other CEOs is   
when they're in trouble, and usually he's the cause."  
  
Serena's eyes clouded over. He father hadn't mentioned any   
meetings with Derencourt, not that he would have said anything to her of   
all people. Could it possibly be that he was the one who had bought the   
stock as the beginning of a hostile takeover? The very thought made her   
blood run cold.   
  
"I certainly hope not," Serena remarked absently.  
  
The very idea of some playboy CEO destroying the company that had   
been in her family for generations made her stomach feel like jelly. It made   
her instantly build up a shield against this man. Darien Derencourt was not   
a man to be trusted.  
  
Her reverie was shattered by the appearance of Andrew and Darien.   
Andrew introduced all the girls before getting to Serena. He looked at   
her meeting her eyes as he made the decision whether or not to introduce   
her as his fiancée. The look in Serena's eyes allowed him to make the   
decision. Darien didn't miss the look between them and the moment of   
hesitation as Andrew said, "…and this is Serena, my fiancée."  
  
Serena shook his hand but the cool expression on her face never   
changed. He stared at her and saw in her crystal clear blue eyes,   
something that told him she was not going to trip over herself for him and   
even more she did not appear to like him. He smiled his usual smile at her,   
the same sly half smile that made women shiver; its effect was completely   
lost on her however.  
  
Her lack of a reaction towards him intrigued him, as did the blonde   
curls that were now spilling over her shoulder, and a mouth that any other   
woman, unless she had one just like it, should be jealous about. She was   
significantly more attractive in person than she had been in that magazine.   
Having a woman react to him negatively was not something he was used to.   
He wondered if he could give her reason to change her mind. He just might   
try; it would be a nice challenge.  
  
They all proceeded into the restaurant. With her back turned to him   
he got a perfect view of Serena's tiny waist and flaring hips that was   
perfectly emphasized by her form fitting sweater and jeans. Andrew was a   
very lucky man. Those were hips he'd like to feel the sway of in his own   
large hands.  
  
A few moments later after entering the restaurant, Ami's fiancé Greg,   
and Ken, a good friend of Lita's joined the group. They all shared about   
three large pizzas as they talked and laughed together in a friendly   
manner. Darien and Serena seemed to have other things on their minds   
however. Neither added much to the conversation. Darien simply watched   
the way Serena and her friends interacted with each other and most   
importantly the way Serena interacted with her fiancé. Far more important   
than that; he watched her.  
  
Her every move was somehow sensual. She didn't say much but what   
she did say in her honeyed voice he paid attention to every rise, fall and   
inflection. He found himself brooding over his reaction to her and   
disappointed in her lack of reaction towards him.   
  
Throughout the evening neither Serena nor Andrew had touched each   
other much nor shared any intimate moments that were usual between   
engaged couples. To Darien they seemed like two very good friends and   
nothing more, a piece of information he stored away in the back of his   
mind for future reference. He admitted to himself he could be wrong   
however; after all he was no expert on relationships, having never had a   
long-term relationship himself.  
  
Serena found herself ignoring Darien and brooding over what Rei had   
said earlier. Knowing the possible danger he posed had set a dark shadow   
on her evening. She was making a significant effort to enjoy the rest of the   
evening but her mind kept straying back to the possibility of losing Kyler   
Inc. to the man sitting across from her.   
  
He was very difficult to ignore. Raye and Mina couldn't be accused of   
trying. They flirted playfully with him and he gave them small encouraging   
smiles but said little. Despite her resolve to pay no attention to him, she   
kept taking small glances at him and couldn't help admiring the breadth of   
his chest and shoulders and his strong jaw line. She couldn't lie to herself   
about one fact: the man was beautiful.   
  
  
*****************************************************  
  
"You didn't like him did you?" Andrew asked as he drove himself and   
Serena up to her family home for the yearly picnic.  
  
"Who?" Serena asked confused as to whom he was referring.   
  
"Derencourt. You didn't say much to him, the other night."  
  
"As I recall he didn't say much to anyone."  
  
"What can I say? He seems to be a loner. He's very reserved," Andrew   
attempted to defend the honor of a man he liked, who wasn't there to   
defend himself. He and Darien had bumped shoulders a while back at the   
country club they visited on the occasion that either had the time. They had   
played a game of racquetball that Darien had lost, but not easily. They had   
developed a liking for each other and Andrew somehow had this feeling that   
they'd be friends for a long while.  
  
"Except in his choice of women," Serena added. "Did you see that   
blonde floozy he took to the museum opening? I saw the picture of them   
both in Fortune Magazine under an article praising his business skill and   
his liking for beautiful women in large numbers.  
  
" She's a super model."  
  
"I wonder what number Clairol she uses. That platinum does not   
occur naturally."  
  
"You really don't like him do you?"  
  
"I read a bit about him after we had dinner the other night. He's cold   
and distant, and his business tactics should be investigated. No one should   
be able to buy and sell companies so fast without regard for people's jobs."  
  
"They've tried investigating him already; they of course found no   
evidence of unethical business practices."  
  
"Naturally," she said sarcastically.  
  
Andrew smiled and continued. "Also any workers are often well   
compensated when he buys a company and liquidates it. If he keeps it, few   
workers lose jobs. It's mostly people in management positions that need to   
worry. If anything, the workers as well as the consumers benefit from   
company splits."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"You seem to be taking this personally. Did he say something to you?"  
  
"No. He didn't say anything. Rei said he had a private meeting with   
my father and I've seen evidence at the company that makes me wonder if   
he's thinking he can do to Kyler Inc. what he's done to the other companies   
he's ruined."   
  
Andrew frowned. "Your father didn't mention anything about it?"  
  
"No, not that he would, at least not to me."  
  
"Well I'm sure if something that important was happening, he would   
tell you and all the members of the board."  
  
"My father wouldn't tell me anything. But even if it's not a hostile   
takeover, what business could he possibly have with Derencourt? It just   
doesn't make any sense."  
  
"I'm sure everything will work out just fine, Sere."   
  
"Serena gave Andrew a sarcastic smirk as his black Mercedes pulled   
up in front of the immense mansion. She was building herself up for a long   
day. This picnic was not what she had in mind for an enjoyable weekend,   
but she had her obligations and so they were here.  
  
"If you leave me alone with that woman, I'll kill you."  
Andrew grinned, amused at Serena's obvious displeasure at having   
to attend this family function.  
  
As if on cue her mother emerged from the front between the two   
Roman-style pillars that decorated the front of the Kyler mansion. She was   
dressed in an elegant but casual lavender pantsuit. Everything about her   
was perfect, not even a strand of her pale shoulder-length blonde hair was   
out of place as she glided down the front steps towards them.  
  
"Speaking of 'that woman' here she comes now."  
  
They both got out of the car. Andrew was looking perfect as usual,   
sunglasses, wind-blown hair, the vision of a movie star. Serena had dressed   
to please her mother. She was wearing a white sundress and had brushed   
her shiny curls to perfection.  
  
Helen approached the young couple with a large smile on her face.   
She spread her arms and embraced Andrew. He leaned down an exchanged   
a kiss on the cheek with the woman who thought she was going to be his   
mother-in-law.   
  
"You two look wonderful," Helen sung, kissing her daughter on the   
cheek.  
  
"It's nice to see you again Helen," Andrew said charmingly. Grinning   
almost flirtatiously.  
  
Had she had the opportunity, Serena would have kicked him   
graciously in the shin. There was no point in warming up to her mother with   
the news she'd eventually have to deliver.   
  
Before they could think of further conversation, Helen launched into   
wedding plans as they all walked toward the house. For some reason   
Andrew seemed to find the whole thing rather amusing and was smiling   
brilliantly as they followed her mother into the house. Serena rolled her   
eyes and with her mother's back turned gave Andrew the pinch he   
deserved.  
  
"Ouch." He glared at Serena.  
  
"Is something the matter, Andrew" Helen said turning to look over   
her shoulder at him.  
  
"No, nothing Helen, just a bite from an annoying insect."  
  
  
Serena was just about at her breaking point. Her mother was   
yammering away to her Aunts and three of her cousins as they sat drinking   
coffee. She hadn't had any opportunity to be alone. Despite his promise,   
Andrew had been forced to leave Serena in this room, dreary now with the   
fading light of the setting sun, with her mother, two of her Aunts and three   
of her cousins ranging in ages from Twenty-two to twenty-eight.   
  
Now her Aunts and cousins were giving her input on what she should   
have at her wedding. Lila thought she should have Lilacs, Serena resisted   
the urge to snort at the redhead's annoying way of adding herself to a part   
of every equation. Tammy preferred a wide array of different flowers and   
there should definitely be doves. Serena didn't doubt that Tammy would   
have secretly hoped that one of the doves pooped on her head and   
scratched her eyes out.   
  
Lila and Anissa were arguing, because Anissa thought there was   
nothing wrong with having sunflowers at a wedding. Her mother and her   
aunts were insisting she have traditional wedding cake and not the   
chocolate and vanilla marble she had chosen. Serena reached her breaking   
point when her mother started to tell her that the flower girls should toss   
potpourri instead of rose petals.  
  
"That's it," she muttered. "Mother you might as well know, I'm not   
getting married! The room was hushed. "In fact after listening to you all, I   
may never get married, ever."  
  
"Whatever are you saying dear? I know you're scared but don't you   
think you're being a bit irrational. We've been planning this wedding for   
months. Darling we can always postpone until later in the year if you feel   
this is all too soon."  
  
"Mother you just don't get it. I'm not getting married. Andrew and I   
called off the engagement."  
  
Her aunts and cousins gasped. Her mother was silent for a moment.  
  
"I'm so sorry honey. Did you two have a fight? Are you two trying to   
work things out? I'm sure everything will be fine."  
  
"No! Things won't be fine Mother. Andrew and I agreed to call off the   
engagement because we're not in love. I don't know that we ever were."  
  
"I love him, but not the way I should. He's my best friend, but that's   
where it ends."  
  
Serena's mother was silent.  
  
"I'm sorry Mom, I knew you really wanted to see this happen, but it's   
just not going to work."  
  
Serena could see the tears in her mother's eyes. She had really   
wanted this for her. She came up to Serena and kissed her on the cheek.   
She touched Serena's cheek brushing the tears from Serena's face, cried   
out of frustration, "I wasn't in love with your father either," she whispered.  
Serena wasn't sure just how she felt as she watched her mother leave   
the room. Her feelings were a mass of confusing emotions that after careful   
sorting amounted to a large amount of guilt. She felt selfish; she probably   
shouldn't, but she did. Vivienne and Tammy shared a look and hid a tiny   
smirk. Serena felt even worse.  
  
  
  
"I don't know what made me think that this would all feel better in   
the end. I feel like the lowest form of life on this planet. The least I could   
have done was waited until I was alone with her instead of blurting out my   
personal business in front of those spiteful bitches who are no doubt   
spreading some ill rumors around my family. Knowing my luck this will be   
the heading of all the society papers and you know how she feels about her   
image and that of the family. How could I possibly be this inconsiderate?"   
She rambled on and on as Andrew drove silently.  
  
"You know you're absolutely right. You are the scum of the earth! The   
bane of human existence, the mistress of all that is evil."  
  
"Andrew! You're not helping."  
  
He smiled at her. "Well you were doing such a wonderful job of   
needlessly berating yourself, I felt it only fair that I join in on the fun."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
  
  
Serena was eating herself into the misery that resulted from her   
deep-seated guilt. She sat slumped on her couch still in her pajamas   
surrounded by potato chips, chocolate, and cheese doodles. She couldn't   
seem to help being miserable.   
  
She had been arguing with herself all day. She had convinced herself   
she could have done a better job of explaining to her mother that all her   
wedding plans were for naught. She certainly shouldn't have done it before   
her Aunt and cousins. She certainly hadn't realized just how much this   
meant to her mother. She now realized it had been something of a dream   
for her mother to see her happily married, a dream she had callously   
ruined.  
  
She wondered if her mother had recovered enough to inform her   
father. Did he even care? There was really only one way to find out. He   
deserved to hear it from her own mouth. She swallowed another potato   
chip and picked up the phone.  
  
Arthur Kyler answered his cell phone in his usual gruff manner. His   
daughter's somewhat tentative voice came over. He frowned.  
It wasn't that he didn't love the girl, she simply reminded him too   
much of her mother. He suspected that she carried too many Foster traits   
and that simply meant she was weak of mind and prone to excess   
emotions. The whole Foster clan, while all beautiful and aristocratic in   
appearance and bearing, carried those traits and he suspected the same in   
Serena.  
  
It was unfortunate she hadn't been more like him. He had seen her   
do things that suggested that she might have some fighting spirit inside   
her but in his presence she always seemed nervous and expectant, just like   
her mother, as though she expected some kind of show of favoritism. He   
had made it a point to show he would not participate in any form of   
nepotism. He had deliberately placed her in a company position where she   
couldn't embarrass herself if she failed at the business; she had survived.  
He had been slightly impressed by her intelligent display in the last   
board meeting but it hadn't been anything so special that anyone else, had   
they looked, couldn't have deduced the same. Still, maybe there was hope   
for her yet. Maybe when she got married she would stay home like her   
mother and be what she had been raised by her mother to be, a good wife.   
That would either be a waste of talent or a realization of her true purpose   
and talents.  
  
"Daddy, I just wanted to let you know that Andrew and I have broken   
our engagement. We decided that it would be best for us both to separate   
before we headed down the wrong path. I didn't think the feelings we   
thought we had for each other were a sound basis on which to build a   
marriage. They just weren't strong enough. Mom is very disappointed but I   
just couldn't go through with it. It didn't feel right."   
  
The more he thought about the situation however the more he began   
to see that if the stage was set, this could quite turn out to be in his favor.   
Now was a good time to find out more about his only child. It could only   
benefit them all. He smiled.  
  
He frowned. She was throwing a way a perfectly good man for a   
reason based solely on the lack of a certain idealistic and impractical   
emotion. Had he thought the argument worth it, he would have gladly   
informed her that love was hardly the sole basis for marriage. In many   
cases it was a convenient afterthought. Marriage was about compatibility,   
producing heirs, and improving one's financial and or social status. Love   
within a marriage, while convenient was hardly necessary. Andrew would   
have been the perfect husband.  
  
"Daddy, did you hear me?" Serena couldn't believe he was upset; a   
crimson red bunny was more likely to fly through her living room on a   
snowy day in July than her father showing any type of caring emotion   
towards her. Even if this mattered to him, he would hardly show it. She   
didn't expect any sympathy either.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that sweetheart. I hope you aren't too upset. Why   
don't I take you out to dinner? I bet you aren't feeling particularly grand   
about the situation. We can talk about it and you can tell me what   
happened. Does that sound good?"  
  
Serena had to sit down for fear of fainting. Where was that bunny? It   
must be snowing outside. She couldn't believe her ears. She had to be   
dreaming.  
  
DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW 


	5. Inc Chapter 4

Title: Inc-Chapter 4  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
Darien frowned at the papers on his desk. It was a bundle of   
information on Kyler Inc. that under normal circumstances he shouldn't   
have. Had kyler not brought this situation before him he would never had   
taken a second look at Kyler Inc. Now that he had all the information before   
him he had to admit that the idea of a merger was highly profitable. The   
proposition, though confounding, was mildly attractive.  
  
He had to wonder however, just why Kyler had chosen him of all   
people. Granted they had similar modes of operation but there must have   
been a good half dozen other companies that Kyler could have asked. Why   
would Kyler want to hand over a company that had been in his family for so   
many years to a perfect stranger?   
  
"Hi Daddy," Serena said nervously. She had been racking her brain,   
wondering just what miracle had occurred to cause her father's sudden   
interest. The only ideas she could come up with is the possibility of   
insanity, his not hers. She had considered her own insanity, assuming she   
hadn't really called him and had imagined the whole thing up. That idea   
had flown out the window when she'd walked up to his table in the   
restaurant where to her surprise he'd smiled at her and kissed her cheek,   
obviously she had spoken to him after all. The only other possibility had   
been he had contracted a terminal illness and was making peace with   
everyone in his life. She certainly hoped that wasn't the case.  
  
"Hello, Sweetheart. How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm fine, Daddy," Serena replied smilingly. She couldn't help feeling   
nervous. He always had that effect on her and she had a feeling he knew it   
and didn't like that very much. Today, however, he seemed to be going out   
of his way to put her at ease. She had the distinct sensation he would drop   
a bombshell before the evening was over. For that reason, she ordered a   
gin and tonic, not for it's taste but for it's alcohol content.  
…  
The evening was almost to a close and still her father had not   
unloaded whatever burden had caused him to invite her to dine with him.   
Maybe he was really dying and had no intention of letting her know.   
Instead, he hoped to make up for lost time by spending time with his only   
child. Next thing she knew he would be spending time with his wife… not   
likely she rethought.  
  
Kyler was having a hard time preventing the frown his facial muscles   
seemed to beg for. She was not at all what he expected. He had been   
surprised when she'd ordered such a strong drink. He'd been grateful later   
however, when the alcohol had taken effect and her original nervousness   
melted into a far more relaxed state, revealing far more of herself to him   
than she probably intended. It was almost at the end of their long meal   
before he realized he never knew his daughter.  
  
He certainly had never had a prolonged conversation with her. He   
had made many assumptions about her, most of them false. She was   
nothing like her mother. She was strong, charming, beautiful, amusing,   
intelligent, and witty; she couldn't possibly be his, and yet somehow she   
was. He was suddenly caught up in how many years he'd lost with this girl   
who just would have gone off and gotten married without him ever knowing   
what a wonderful girl she really was. He felt guilty, somewhat.  
  
He had been extremely surprised that she was the one to break the   
engagement. He had naturally assumed Davenport had found someone else   
and Serena had felt the need to cover up for him by claiming it was mutual.   
The fact that she didn't seem to be in the least bit of pain from the breakup   
convinced him otherwise. Serena made her own decisions. She was, he   
decided, the daughter he had always wanted and never knew he had.  
  
It certainly made what he was about to do much harder on his   
conscience. Derencourt was however the son he had always wanted, a   
wonderful businessman. He would be doing Serena a favor.  
  
"Daddy, is something wrong? You seem to have gone off to another   
planet for a moment." Serena suspected that this was the moment she had   
been waiting all night for. The wonderful food settling into her stomach   
twisted uncomfortably into a tight ball of unease that she hoped wasn't   
visible on her face.  
  
"Serena I'm about to tell you something that I'd prefer you not reveal   
to anyone."   
  
Her big blue eyes widened with concern and fear. Dear God! He was   
dying.  
  
"It's about what you said in that board meeting the other day. Your   
concerns about the company are very valid dear."  
  
Her widened eyes returned to their usual size. She should have   
known it was about business, she thought bitterly, not that she wasn't   
relieved he was going to live. They had spent a wonderful evening together,   
one she'd remember for the rest of her life as quite possibly the first, last,   
and only times she'd received attention from the man she admired most.  
  
"As I'm sure you know, Kyler Inc.'s stock is not as valuable as it   
should be right now." He sighed. "I've worked long and hard on this   
company but occasionally things happen and don't go the way we hope.   
The company isn't in any real danger on it's own but I had been hoping   
with some of our new ventures to recover from this momentary slow   
period."  
  
Serena digested that information easily. She had known about the   
company's slow period but with the booming economy and Kyler's good   
reputation with the banks for making profit, their recovery was almost   
guaranteed.  
  
"Your Aunt's husband does not, however, have any intention of   
letting Kyler Inc recover before he moves in. I suspect he's already   
attempting to ruin our reputation by trying to get the banks and our   
stockholders to doubt our ability to profit and pay off our debts. He's   
hoping that he can convince us to sell a percentage of our stock in order to   
boost our profits. Even if he doesn't, he can still spread rumors that we're   
having problems and cause a big enough drop in stock prices and profits   
for him to attempt a takeover, which is what he's already begun."  
Serena was shocked. She had had no idea that things were so   
precarious.  
  
"What are we going to do?"  
  
"We are going to save ourselves, and I hoped you could help me."  
  
"How can I help?" Serena questioned, surprised at the request.  
  
"You can marry Darien Derencourt." He'd laid it all on the table. He   
doubted she'd like it, but if anything she was loyal and she was a Kyler. She   
would do what was best for the company and the family just as he had.   
He tried to rationalize what he was doing to her. He was forcing her   
to choose between her family and her own happiness. He hoped she   
wouldn't quite see it that way. He didn't doubt that Darien could make her   
happy. It wasn't exactly the worst deal one could be offered: marry a   
gorgeous multimillionaire and save your family's corporation.  
  
"Are you serious?" Serena all but screeched after her stunned   
silence. She couldn't believe her ears. Her father had just suggested she   
marry a known womanizer whose ideals rubbed her the wrong way. To do   
such a thing would be tantamount to making a deal with the devil.  
  
"Derencourt is the only one whom I'd trust to run this company the   
way it needs to be run. His touch is golden. The moment the banks and the   
stockholders hear that Kyler Inc. will merge with NGT, our stock would   
shoot through the roof. Darien Davenport is exactly the kind of man we   
need.  
  
"You can't be serious! The man's a predator, not to mention a   
womanizing gigolo. His business tactics are suspect and any moment now   
the SEC is going to shut him down. He has no friends that I know of,   
although he seems to have drawn Andrew into his fan club, and his idea of   
good business is to intimidate everyone around him."   
  
"I see you know him."  
  
"We've met," Serena replied tersely.   
  
"He's good at what he does. He's intelligent, downright brilliant, he's   
attractive, he's…  
  
"…exactly like you!" Serena surprised them both finishing and   
improvising his sentence. Richard smiled.   
  
"Not exactly. I'll take the rest as a compliment but I am not the   
womanizing gigolo you think he is, besides I was heading for something   
else but I see you've already made your judgment of him so I hardly think   
mentioning that I think you could love him would change your mind."  
Serena was stunned, a feeling she was beginning to get used to   
today. She sensed a positive shift in her relationship with her father. Just   
now she had shown none of the reserve she usually maintained in his   
presence. She had the distinct feeling he was slightly amused but still very   
serious.   
  
While she suddenly felt significantly closer to her father she couldn't   
believe he was trying to arrange her marriage. She hadn't thought him   
interested enough in her life to care whom she married. Obviously she was   
wrong. But of all the men in the world he had chosen the one she had just   
recently developed a moral opposition to. Of course, discovering that   
Darien was not the one attempting to take over the corporation did earn   
him one point in her favor or was it that it took away on of the many   
negative points he'd already earned?  
  
"What in the world makes you think I could love him? Certainly you   
can't have based that solely on the fact that he's good looking?" That was   
quite the understatement. Derencourt looked like a dark god, like any of   
the tall, dark, and handsome heroes of the romance novels she used to   
read. He even brooded for crying out loud! She wasn't sure how she knew   
that but she was sure it was true. Despite her dislike of him, she wasn't   
immune to his stunning masculine beauty. She gulped realizing she had   
spent way too much time contemplating his perfect features and staring at   
his icy blue eyes in that magazine she had read.  
  
"As I said before he's intelligent, handsome, and charming." Richard   
had to admit he had no idea whether Derencourt was charming or not, all   
he'd seen was a controlled demeanor and intelligence in his icy eyes. He   
had a hunch that beneath all that he was as passionate as they came. He   
was tempted to mention that he'd overheard a few women gossiping about   
how good he was in bed but he doubted she'd appreciate that or that it was   
  
an appropriate thing to mention to one's daughter.   
  
"I knew his mother a long time ago. She was a wonderful woman. I   
don't doubt she raised her son well."  
  
"Why do I need to marry him? From what I understand, you've   
already met with him and I don't see why the merger can't be done without   
this marriage you have in mind. Also, by the way his relationships, if they   
can be called that, with women have gone, he doesn't seem to have any   
interest in marriage. What makes you think that he'd agree to marry me?"  
  
"I hadn't thought much about this before I met with him, but the   
more I think about it the more I'd like the company to remain within our   
family and marriage is the only way I can see to do that. As for   
Derencourt's relationships, maybe he hasn't really met the right woman."  
  
"And you think I'm the right woman?" Serena asked skeptically.   
  
"I think you could be if you put your mind to it."  
  
"I don't think Derencourt, is very interested in a woman's mind."   
  
Serena said sarcastically annoyed with his last statement.  
Kyler smiled. The girl had backbone, he had to give her that much.   
The more she argued, the more he felt she and Derencourt were right for   
each other and the more he was confused by his own behavior. He felt   
fatherly and cupid-like. The last thing he had expected was to find himself   
playing matchmaker and he certainly didn't expect to have this grand   
almost divine feeling that he was doing the right thing.  
  
"I'm sure he could make an exception for you."  
  
"I doubt it. You didn't take my mind into consideration before and   
you obviously aren't doing so now. If I consider the fact that he is so much   
like you I'll have to assume he'll want nothing to do with me!" Serena   
regretted the words the instant they left her lips.  
  
Richard's face tightened into an unintelligible expression. "I suppose   
I deserved that. I can see now that my lack of attention has caused you   
some pain. I am very sorry, I haven't been all I should be to you."  
  
"I didn't mean to say that."  
  
"No, don't apologize. It's good that you did. I needed to hear it."  
  
"You still haven't told me why you think he'd want to marry me. I   
doubt that I'm his type."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'll convince him. Are you willing to try this? I   
wouldn't ask you to do this if I thought there would be another way of   
keeping the company in this family. I also wouldn't ask you if I didn't think   
you could be happy with him."  
  
"Like you and Mom?" Serena asked bitterly.  
  
"What happened between your mother and I have no bearing on this   
situation whatsoever," he replied tersely in a tone that told her not to   
broach the subject again.  
  
"Doesn't it? Didn't your family force you to make the same choice   
you're giving me now? Family loyalty or your own happiness."  
She watched as his jaw clenched. He was angry but for the first time   
in her life she wasn't afraid or intimidated by him.  
  
"The situation isn't the least bit the same. Times were different, and   
I wasn't given a choice then. We were both in love with other people. My   
parents didn't approve of my choice; they forced me to give up the woman I   
loved, it was a sort of blackmail I guess you could call it.   
  
"She was Japanese in a time when it wasn't fashionable to be   
different. Her parents owned a small business at the time, they didn't   
approve either but they were good people. My grandfather had the power   
and threatened to use it to run her parents out of business. If that   
happened they'd be forced to return to Japan or move to Boston to live   
with their friends. The business was their livelihood. I couldn't let that   
happen despite how much I loved her so I did what was best and honored   
my family's wishes.  
  
"I was angry when I got married. I was angry with my family and the   
world, I was even angry with Ikuko, in her despair over the ending of our   
relationship, she ran away from home and last I heard she married some   
musician from somewhere in Europe she met in Seattle. I guess I laid a lot   
of blame at your mother's feet. She hated and feared me at first. I guess   
my anger distanced us for a while. I eventually got over it, at least long   
enough for us to form a decent enough relationship to produce you. Our   
marriage never had a good foundation however; our relationship couldn't   
stand the test of time."  
  
"If the marriage wasn't going well why didn't you divorce?"   
  
"I think you already know the answer to that. People in our set don't   
divorce. They live separate lives, but they never get divorced."  
  
"How Victorian." Serena spat bitterly. It seemed the privileged class   
she was born into denied people their happiness just to keep the status   
quo.   
  
"Serena I don't want you to think you have to do this; you don't. I   
know that coming from me this sounds ridiculous but I think you could like   
Derencourt. After all, if he's so much like me you can't possibly hate him.   
I've done so much wrong to you and yet you're sitting here having dinner   
with me. Give him a chance; if you can have dinner with me, you can have   
dinner with him, he's also better looking company so you'll have something   
interesting to look at."  
  
Serena felt herself softening and resisted the urge to kick herself and   
an even bigger urge to kick him in the teeth. She knew that she was going   
to say yes.   
  
"Ok. I'll try but I'm not asking him out, you are."  
  
"Me!" Her father sounded utterly ridiculous and it made her smile.   
This was what she had dreamed of for so long, a loving relationship with   
her father.  
  
"Yes you."  
  
"I don't think you want me to do that," he replied. Serena thought   
about that for a little while.  
  
"Well then you'll just have to motivate him to ask me because I don't   
feel like embarrassing myself."  
  
"Somehow I don't think he'll need too much motivation  



	6. Inc. Chapter 5

Title: Inc-Chapter 5  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
"Susa come in here, I want to talk to you." Darien's voice came over   
the intercom, in soft Japanese. Setsuna responded to the friendly   
command quickly. He obviously wanted personal friendly attention or he   
wouldn't have called her the nickname he'd been using over the years or   
spoken her native language, the language of his mother and hers.   
  
Their mothers had been friends for quite a while, though the two had   
met only after Darien had returned from an entire year in college in Tokyo.   
He suspected Setsuna's mother had wanted him to marry her daughter.   
  
Setsuna wasn't his type however; she was far too much like him, if a bit   
quieter and more mysterious, though few would believe that possible. He'd   
used the time in Tokyo to become more familiar with the language and   
culture of his mother and grandparents. He'd also spent a semester in   
France with his father's parents; his father had only thought it fair and   
Darien was happy to oblige. It had certainly been an original experience.   
Unfortunately it had forced him to be away from his father at the time of   
his death.   
  
Darien was staring out the windows over the city. It was a beautiful   
day; unfortunately there was no way to enjoy it from inside the skyscraper.   
"Is something the matter Darien?"  
  
"I'm considering a business agreement that would change   
everything. I'm not quite sure if I want to do this however.   
  
"You've always followed your gut instinct and it has rarely failed. Why   
do you hesitate now?"  
  
"It's a merger. With Kyler Inc. In the end I come out on top. I inherit   
the fruit of the labor of the Kyler family."  
  
Setsuna was surprised though the only expression on her beautiful   
face was the raising of one very neatly angled eyebrow. "Where's the   
catch?"  
  
"I'm waiting to see it. Kyler's no fool. I can't see him merely giving   
his company away to me of all people without gaining something for all the   
years of hard work he and his predecessors have put into this company. I   
think most likely my answer will be no.  
  
"Technically this is a rescue operation. A merger with Kyler Inc.   
makes them feel less like a sitting duck waiting to be eaten up by the first   
predator who happens to pass along the way. In this case that predator is   
one J.T. Montgomery who no one trusts for good reasons. I would get a   
reward for my heroic attempts though, and enormous profit potential and   
an international success of a company that is mine to do with as I wish. It's   
an enormously tempting reward. Too tempting to let slide by. I'm still   
waiting for Kyler to slip in that catch though. I think he knows that I'm   
tempted, he's just waiting until I say I'm willing to tell me exactly what his   
plan is."  
  
"Well it seems there is little else to do but wait." Setsuna said.  
  
"Mina get over here and if you can bring tall blonde and handsome   
with you that would be great. I need help!"  
  
"What's going on Serena?"  
  
"It's a long story, I'll explain when you get here. The short version of   
it is I'm supposed to seduce a gorgeous male into marrying me, whose   
usual female escort is the American standard of beauty and it's all   
happening tonight."  
  
"What!" Mina screeched confused.  
  
"Just get over here okay!"  
  
It was a relief to know that she had two people she could count on to   
bolster her confidence. She had related the entire story to Andrew and   
Mina the night after she'd had dinner with her father. Mina had been   
disappointed not to have gained her as a sister but she had been mildly   
surprised when Andrew had frowned and said he didn't think it was the   
greatest idea but if she felt she should do it, it was up to her. Even more   
surprising however, was that he'd given Darien a stunning   
recommendation.   
  
She had assumed he wouldn't approve at all but it was apparent he   
was a new member of the Darien Derencourt fan club. Mina had pouted   
and complained that she got all the good guys but Serena easily realized   
she didn't have him yet.  
  
Serena hung up the phone. She'd had a week to think about it and   
she'd grown more nervous with each passing moment.   
Her father had informed her this morning that he'd be meeting   
Darien for dinner and that he wanted her to accompany him. He hadn't left   
her much time to panic, which is more than she had been all week. She   
had been a nervous wreck all week wondering what her father possibly saw   
in her that he thought she could get Derencourt to propose to her before   
they signed the documents necessary to complete the merger, if there   
would even be a merger. She wasn't as convinced as her father was that   
Darien would agree to the merger when he discovered that she was a part   
of the package.  
  
She was equally worried about the possibility that he would agree   
and then where would she be? She had lost sleep imagining herself married   
to him and grown more upset with the realization that it was far too easy   
for her to do so.  
  
She'd researched his entire life, at least whatever she could find on   
print. It hadn't gotten her any closer to thinking of herself as his wife. In   
fact the more she learned about him, the more she felt he wouldn't take   
well to the idea of having a wife. The man changed women like other men   
changed shirts! And from what she could tell he didn't leave any of them   
dissatisfied. She had tried to take it in stride and convince herself that if   
she ever managed to get him to out a ring on her finger she'd at least be   
guaranteed a good time in bed. That had caused her to blush until she felt   
she'd explode from the heat. She was ashamed of herself for first   
considering him on such a basic level, it was the same way men looked and   
treated women: sex first IQ later.  
  
"It was hard not to think of him on that level. The little time she had   
spent in his presence, even in silence, not so subtle sexuality rolled off the   
man in waves. It made it difficult to imagine him committing to a   
relationship with her not so spectacular self. He'd be bored with her long   
before the ink on the marriage license was dry.   
  
She sucked in a deep breath as she took into consideration that she   
had to approach this carefully. Should she manage to complete the   
monumental task of getting him to marry her, she realized it would be   
forever. There would be no divorce.   
  
She sank down on the floor before her full-length mirror and let out a   
sigh of frustration. She could hardly believe she was seriously considering   
marriage so soon after breaking her engagement to Andrew. This shouldn't   
feel at all normal. She should be angry with her father and somewhere   
inside she was but she should not actually be hoping this would work out.   
She could not possibly actually want to marry Darien Derencourt.   
Less than half an hour later Mina, and Andrew burst in through her   
front door.  
  
"Serena you wound me!" Andrew began dramatically. "No sooner   
than you crushed my poor heart in those beautiful hands than you've found   
another more wonderful and dear to you to take my place. My heart   
breaks," he moaned reaching the climax of his overacted dramatics.  
Serena rolled her eyes. "Stop while you're ahead and don't quit your   
day job because there's no Oscar in the future for you."  
  
"I can't believe you guys aren't engaged any more, I thought you   
were perfect together," Mina said almost mournfully. "I was actually   
looking forward to making a decent sister out of you," Mina added   
frowning.  
  
"See what you've done Serena!" Andrew accused.  
  
"Oh cut it out! I have a crisis on my hands. Well sort of. I don't know.   
My dad's going out to dinner with Darien to see if he will agree to the   
merger and he invited me to come along. "  
  
"To sweeten the deal? Or for temptation?" Andrew asked.  
  
"A little of both, I suspect, though I doubt it will work!" Serena   
muttered under her breath. Andrew rolled his eyes. Unfortunately she   
wasn't being coy and fishing for compliments. He'd certainly spent enough   
time with her to know she was completely unaware of her own beauty in   
spite of the many times he'd reminded her of it.   
  
"So what's the problem?" Mina asked.  
  
"I don't know what to wear!"  
Andrew sank into a couch and picked up a magazine. "I can't believe   
you dragged me over hear to help you get dressed. Undressed I'd   
understand after all I know you miss me, you have to." He managed to   
duck before the pillow she threw at him could hit him in the head.  
  
"She won't be missing you for long. I hear Darien's more than   
capable of undressing women."  
  
"Don't remind me," Serena muttered. "I needed a man's opinion   
too."  
  
"I don't see what the problem is, it's just a business dinner," Andrew   
said.  
  
"It's a dinner with the man who may or may not be my husband. My   
entire future is being decided in one night! We dated for almost three years   
before we even considered getting engaged and now what some man I   
barely know says will decide whether or not I spend the rest of my life for   
him."  
  
"Well there's no getting out of it now. Besides if he says no, life goes   
back to normal for you. So let's see your choices," Mina announced.  
Serena went to her closet and pulled out the three dresses she'd   
narrowed her choices to and prepared to bring them out.  
  
"Just try them on and let's see what they look like and we'll make   
our choice," Mina yelled from the living room.  
  
The first one was a clingy black stretch cotton dress with a low wide   
neckline that emphasized her bust and her lithe female form all the way to   
mid-calf. To that she got a nod of approval but no rave reviews. Fortunately   
she'd expected as much.  
  
The second was a pale blue that showed off her eyes. It was soft   
delicate cashmere and silk sleeveless dress with a droopy mock turtleneck.   
It skimmed her finger and made its stop at her knees. She received   
delighted smiles and sly winks from the pair of siblings.  
  
The last was a crème colored long sleeved crochet dress that   
stopped directly below the knees with a plunging v-neck so low the rose   
petals of her tattoo found it's way around the curve of her full breast and   
far out of reach of any of the delicate material of the dress. The back of the   
dress rivaled it's front by plunging so low the curve of her back was   
enticingly visible. It was one she'd never had reason to wear before. It was   
the one Mina insisted she wear. Andrew raised his eyebrows unable to stop   
his eyes from admiring her figure, and pointed out rather objectively that if   
she was going to seduce a man that was certainly the dress to wear. For   
the sake of her father's sanity however, he suggested a shawl, a rather   
large shawl.   
  
Darien drove his own BMW sedan rather than use the chauffeur   
driven limousine. He was prepared to tell Kyler that he was unwilling to   
accept his offer. It was an excellent offer and he was sure he could work   
around any catch Kyler had to offer.   
  
The first time he'd been inside the Blue Lagoon he had been   
surprised. The restaurant's décor, should have been tacky with most of its   
walls covered in blue green wallpaper that simulated water, it was actually   
quite beautiful. An entire wall was devoted to a rather large aquarium of   
expensive tropical fish and another looked out over the city, shimmering   
beautifully with all its bright colorful lights.  
  
The last thing he expected when he entered the restaurant was to see   
a woman about to sit at Kyler's table, a secluded table for three with a view   
of the city. All he could see of her was her bare back where luxurious   
blonde curls tumbled down the opening left by a crème-colored crochet   
dress. Apparently, Kyler wasn't all business. Whoever that was, she wasn't   
his wife. It just may prove to be a more interesting evening than he had   
originally expected.  
  
When he arrived at the table he couldn't contain his surprise when he   
saw the beautiful woman sitting next to Kyler. Serena Kyler sat next to her   
father looking even more attractive than the last time he'd seen her. If the   
back of the dress she was wearing was impressive, the deep V down the   
front was nothing short of spectacular. He couldn't recall seeing a better   
view, although he was more than surprised to see the rose tattoo curling up   
the side of one very smooth-skinned breast that flushed pink under his   
gaze. She obviously had a side to her he hadn't yet seen. He admitted to   
himself that he wouldn't mind seeing all her sides. Too bad she was taken.  
  
As she felt his gaze wash over her, Serena couldn't help the blush   
that made her temperature rise a few more degrees. She tried to remain   
calm and collected without letting him know how hard her heart was   
beating as he looked at her, he was too attractive to live. He looked like   
he'd stepped off the runway of an Armani fashion show. His black suit   
hugged his imposing torso, emphasizing the width of his chest. His pants…   
she refused to look there in order to avoid turning a deeper shade of red.   
His black hair still hung a little too long into his exotic almost Asian eyes   
filled with pale icy blue orbs that were unnervingly soul piercing.  
She was ashamed to find herself hesitating, trying to get a grip on   
reality when it was time to greet the man. Her brain seemed to have frozen   
momentarily.   
  
"It's nice to see you again Ms. Kyler, Mr. Kyler," Darien greeted. "You   
have a beautiful daughter Mr. Kyler, I thought we'd be alone this evening   
but your daughter's presence indicates something far more pleasant than   
business."   
  
Kyler was pleased to see he was right. Derencourt was charming. His   
daughter's cheeks seemed to be made of rose petals. It was a good sign.   
She was obviously attracted to him.  
  
"I'm happy to see you two have met, " Kyler said formally. "As soon   
as we order, why don't we get down to business?"  
  
"As you wish, Darien conceded."  
  
The waiter appeared as if summoned by an unnatural force and took   
their orders. None of the three had problems making up their mind. In   
some ways they were all very much alike. As the restaurant's specialty was   
gourmet seafood it was what made up the main course of their meal.  
  
"I have changed my mind Derencourt," Kyler began. Darien's   
eyebrows shot up. He couldn't believe Kyler would back out now. He had   
seemed far more levelheaded than this.  
  
"You are no longer considering the merger?" Darien questioned   
calmly.  
  
"Yes, of course I am. I wish to add just one condition, and if it suits   
you, we can meet with our lawyers and have them draw up a contract."  
Darien's blue eyes became coldly intense. Here was the catch. He   
wondered what it would be."  
  
"What condition is that sir?"  
  
Serena glanced nervously at her father. If Darien accepted this offer   
his life and hers would forever be changed. Suddenly she felt as if she were   
being sold and it brought a bitter taste to her mouth. For the sake of her   
family, she had agreed to be sold to a man she didn't really know. It was   
like an eighteenth century romance novel except there was no guarantee of   
a happy ending. In the real world, in this, enlightened, modern world, this   
was not romantic, it was archaic and ridiculous. Yet here she was all   
trussed up like a thanksgiving turkey waiting to see if Darien would accept   
her as his wife. If she didn't stop thinking, she feared she'd ruin her make   
up with tears.  
  
"I have decided that I want a part of my family to continue on this   
company. You see, my family depended on me to carry on this company,   
especially since my father could not. He wanted to be a musician, my   
grandfather disowned him and he later died in a car accident. My mother   
was in no condition to raise me and so my grandfather raised me and   
instilled in me family loyalty and values. My grandfather passed this   
company on to me and I have thought it over and decided I'd like to see it   
passed on to someone else in my family.  
  
"As gifted as my daughter is, she is too young, and too   
inexperienced," and too female Serena added. "Long ago I knew your   
mother well," Kyler continued. "I never had the chance to meet your father,   
but I suppose it is just as well, I may have killed him for marrying the   
woman I loved." Richard chuckled lightly, more to himself than to the other   
two people at the table.   
  
Darien was forced to mull over that new piece of information. His   
mother had once told him that she had loved once before his father. She   
hadn't said much besides the fact that his father had been the one to   
rescue her from what she called her "heart-wrenching well of despair." So   
this was the man who had broken his mother's heart. A sudden sense of   
loyalty welled up in his heart and he was forced to push down a bit of anger   
towards this man who had caused one of only two women he could   
honestly say he loved, so much pain. He was forced to recall the refrain   
that had been the cause of his success, the one that reminded him that   
emotions and business didn't belong in the same arena.  
  
"I have no doubt your mother raised you well. It is one of the reasons   
I am willing to entrust this company to you." Richard's face took on a look   
of reflection. "I wronged your mother back then, I chose my family over her.   
It is only right that I give to you what I couldn't give to her."  
"There is no need to make amends for past deeds. My mother did   
well enough on her own. She and my father were happy together." Richard   
only nodded.   
  
"I'm not exactly sure what you're proposing here," Darien said   
somewhat annoyed with the delay.  
  
"I'm proposing a marriage, between you and my daughter. Please   
don't say no before you think about it," Richard said hurriedly raising his   
palms in an attempt to quell any shocked outburst Darien might have had.   
It was unnecessary. Darien remained calm, for the first time noticing   
Serena's nervousness. "I want you to be a part of my family."  
  
"It was brilliant of you to wait to spring this one on me until after I   
thought over your attractive offer." Darien said coldly.  
  
"Please, Mr. Derencourt," Serena began as she felt him closing   
himself off. She could hardly believe she was actually going to make an   
attempt to salvage this. "I want you to understand that this is not just a   
business, it's a family, a highly profitable family, but a family all the same.   
In my family we don't always get along, in fact in some ways we're very   
dysfunctional, but we stick together and we're loyal to each other when it   
counts. This business has been in our family for four generations and I   
don't have to do this but I chose to offer myself up to save this family   
because it is my family and I owe it to myself to do what is best for its   
success."  
  
"I can see how it benefits you, Ms. Kyler, but am I to offer myself as   
the lamb upon the sacrificial altar of marriage to save your family? As you   
said it is your family. I do not have any of the bonds you have to it. I don't   
have to do this. I am not the one in need of help here. "  
  
"There are people in this world who don't think of marriage as a   
sacrifice, Mr. Derencourt. You have nothing to lose, the risk is almost   
entirely mine isn't it?" Serena replied, gaining courage with her argument.   
  
"A wife is not so terrible a thing, even for a man like yourself."  
  
He could almost believe her. Her face held such conviction. For a   
moment that seemed to last forever he stared at her. His roaming eyes   
seemed fixed on her face, her big blue eyes that held just a touch of violet   
framed by long silken dark lashes, her perfect, soft sweet pink lips, the   
heated flush of her cheeks, and the faintest touch of freckles he hadn't   
really noticed before across the bridge of her perfect aristocratic nose. He   
closed his eyes momentarily to rid himself of the image but her face   
seemed to have embedded itself on the insides of his eyelids.  
  
"What about Andrew, your fiancée?" he asked. He was disturbed by   
the idea that she'd toss aside her fiancée to marry a perfect stranger at the   
will of her father. He felt sorry for her almost. He could hardly believe a   
father would ask this of his own child.  
  
"Andrew and I were never truly in love, we broke our engagement   
almost two weeks ago."  
  
"You did it quietly, it never made the society pages."  
Serena smiled. "I find it hard to believe you read the society pages."  
  
"I don't." Darien returned the smile. The smile left his face she had   
broken her engagement because she hadn't been in love and yet here she   
was suggesting a marriage of convenience, one without the love she was   
obviously looking for. She was right. The sacrifice was hers. It was one he   
wasn't sure he would have been able to make. He resented her father on   
her behalf. He couldn't have done this to his own child.  
  
Darien turned his attention back to Kyler. "Since you've made the   
offer more complicated, I will have think about it. I'll get back to you."  
  
It would occur to Darien later that he had had every intention of   
saying no to the deal. Why was he thinking it over now?  
  
  



	7. Inc. Chapter 6

Title: Inc-Chapter 6  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
Serena was sitting on the patio of Raye's gorgeous house. She had   
thought she'd feel less anxious if she spent some time with her friends. So   
here she was sitting on a lounge chair beside Raye's swimming pool and   
she wasn't feeling much better.  
  
"What did he say?"  
  
"I know, tell me, what did he say?"  
Serena sighed and then took in a deep breath of fresh air. All her   
friends were grilling her. Even Andrew waited expectantly to hear the news   
of how the dinner with Darien had gone.   
  
"He said he'd think about it," Serena said lifelessly. "I'm just happy   
he didn't laugh in my face."  
  
"I still can't believe you're doing this Serena. If you ask me it's not   
worth it," Lita stated. "I'm not saying Darien is a bad guy or anything like   
that it's just that, well looks aren't everything you know. How can you   
expect to be happy with a man you barely know? I'd love to know what your   
father said to convince you to do this!"  
  
"I'd love to know myself," Serena grumbled. "I think I was drunk."  
  
"It won't be that bad Serena," Andrew assured. "I'm shocked you   
agreed to this but if, Darien agrees to it, I'm sure you could be happy   
  
together. "  
  
"What!" Andrew yelled when everyone turned to look at him as   
though he'd grown an extra head.  
  
"Have you gone back in time or something? This is the twentieth   
century a father doesn't just sell his daughter for the sake of a business   
deal!" Raye screeched indignantly. "Not to mention that in a few weeks   
from now you two would have been married and Serena would be much   
better off as the best friend you married than with the perfect stranger   
she's entrusting herself to.  
  
"Guys please!" Serena yelled over the chatting group. "My dad isn't   
making me do anything I didn't agree to ok. I'm just a bit nervous, waiting   
for Darien to make his decision and you guys really aren't helping.   
The tension in the air created a sense of impending doom that made   
the pit of her stomach feel like jelly in an earthquake. She understood that   
her friends were concerned for her and she was grateful but they weren't   
helping her feel better. She wasn't sure if it had sunk in as yet that if   
Darien agreed that she would spend the rest of her life with him and she   
didn't know when his birthday was, who his parents were, how he took his   
coffee and so much more. She was too busy analyzing herself, trying to   
figure out why deep down she wanted to marry him. She couldn't explain it.   
The moment she had seen him appear before her in the restaurant and felt   
his eyes travel over her she had wanted to be with him. There was no logic   
to it and quite frankly it frightened her.  
  
  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"What do you think I should do?"  
  
"You like hearing advice you never take and I hate giving advice   
that's never followed. Do as you will."  
  
"You'll understand if I hesitate to kiss your feet in gratitude for all   
your help."  
  
Setsuna smiled slightly at Darien's dry wit. Sarcasm suited him well.   
  
"I don't suppose I could be the best man could I?"  
  
"How did you know I would?"  
  
"I know you well. Besides you've had a copy of a magazine open to a   
picture of her from the Orchid Ball for the past three days. " He said   
nothing, but a slight mysterious smile changed the thoughtful expression   
on his face. "She's beautiful, but I suspect you already noticed."  
  
"I did." His half smile grew somewhat wider. "Of course she has other   
qualities as well.  
  
"I would certainly hope so, for your sake and hers. She won't bore   
you then?"  
  
"Never that."   
  
"You'll probably have to give up the bachelor pad."  
  
"Never liked the place much anyway." Setsuna raised an eyebrow at   
that statement as she watched him gulp down the bitter glass of scotch he   
held in his hand. It wasn't exactly the thing one drank to celebrate an   
engagement but in all the time she'd known him he'd been anything but   
conventional.   
  
Darien's bachelor pad was a luxurious penthouse suite at the top of   
the very building in which they now stood. The idea of him not liking it was   
not only absolutely ridiculous but a complete lie. It was certainly a   
testament to t the kind of hold Serena Kyler had over him. Most men in   
their right mind would have given their right arm for the chance to own   
Darien's place. It sat atop one of San Francisco's tallest buildings and had   
gorgeous views of the city. He had personally seen to every beautifully   
expensive piece of furniture that went into it, every painting that hung on   
the walls, the colors of which he had also chosen. Few people had seen it   
but if they had they would have instantly noted how perfectly it suited him.   
His personality seemed to have permeated even the glass walls and black   
marble floors.   
  
It was difficult to imagine him choosing to live elsewhere.  
Setsuna didn't quite understand what was happening here. He had   
gone to that meeting with the intention of refusing Kyler's offer and yet now   
that his daughter was thrown into the deal he was willing? It seemed that   
everyday she came into this offices the magazine was open to her picture   
and he sat there brooding. She had never seen him quite like this. He had   
been distracted for the past few days.   
  
She was beginning to see that somehow, within those few moments   
they'd met, maybe even as he'd looked at her picture in the magazine, he   
had fallen in love with her. She wondered if he was even aware of it. He had   
known many women and she'd seen them all. They had all been so proud   
to be on his arm that when they accomplished their goal he was actually   
quite minor when it all came down to showing the world that they had   
accomplished their goal.   
  
She hoped Serena could appreciate having a man like Darien in love   
with her.   
  
  
It was certainly an interesting place to be having conversation. The   
two men sat side by side on one of the many wooden benches in the steam   
room. Just minutes before they had been engaged in an exhausting game   
of racquetball. During the game Darien had informed Andrew of his   
wedding plans. Andrew had missed the ball headed his way when Darien   
told him that he'd made the decision to marry Serena, but he hadn't   
seemed too surprised. He had after all known of the situation before hand.  
  
"What the hell am I supposed to do with a wife?" Darien asked him   
as soon as they'd both slumped wearily unto the benches.  
  
"Preferably the usual," Andrew replied grinning, "Unless of course   
you don't know how." Andrew received a challenging look from Darien.   
"Doesn't it disturb you that I'm marrying your former fiancée?"   
Darien questioned, wondering how Andrew could accept this situation so   
well. There was a pause before Andrew answered.  
  
"It does, but I'm intelligent enough to know when to step aside. I   
could probably convince her not to go through with it but she'd regret it for   
the rest of her life. She has this way of hanging on to guilt she doesn't   
really deserve. If she doesn't do this for her family she will make her life   
miserable wondering how different things could have been if she'd gone   
through with it."  
  
"That's certainly an uplifting thought," Darien stated cynically. "I'm   
marrying her as a part of a business deal and she's marrying me out of   
guilt. I can see this is the beginning of a loving and wonderful marriage."  
  
"She's wonderful, believe me I know. " Andrews face took on a   
serious look. His eyes narrowed and he looked as though he were about to   
say something but changed his mind. He did not even notice Darien's   
curious eyes watching him.  
  
"You still love her." It wasn't a question. It was plainly visible on   
Andrew's face. "What happened between you two?"  
  
"She didn't love me. I didn't want her to stay with me out of guilt so I   
lied. I told her I felt the same way; that it was best for us to split up. I   
loved her too much to let her think she'd hurt me, that would have hurt her   
too much." Despite the obvious pain in his eyes, Andrew's face remained   
stoic.  
  
"I'm sorry." Darien whispered.   
  
"She isn't marrying for love; I'd at least hoped she'd find that, even if   
not with me. Love her, it's not hard; do that at least."  
  
"I'll try," Darien replied, meaning every word. From what he'd seen,   
Andrew was right and it wouldn't be too difficult.   
  
  
It was a full week before he arrived at her door. Naturally she was   
soaking wet when her doorbell began ringing. She had been trying to put   
her wet hair up in a knot but ran out of time when the bell rang for the   
fourth time. She'd been forced to toss on a simple robe and run to the door   
praying it wasn't men in suits selling religion.   
  
What she opened her door to find was a man in a suit but he didn't   
have pamphlets. He had roses, red and white ones that smelled   
magnificent. She was stunned and speechless. She simply stared in shock   
at him.  
  
Darien sniffed the air around the pretty, damp woman before him.   
Peaches, she smelled of peaches. He smiled at the complete disarray in   
which she stood before him. She was smaller today; he hadn't realized she   
was so short, he could see right over her head into her apartment, now that   
she was barefooted and without the benefit of the height usually given by   
her heels. She was clothed only in a bathrobe and her wet hair hung like a   
rope over her shoulder. From what he could see over her head her   
apartment was much like her, warm and inviting.   
  
He hardly noticed that she had taken the flowers out of his hand.   
"Hello, Serena," he greeted in his deep voice. He looked down at her,   
focusing the intensity of his gaze on her. She didn't say anything; she just   
stared. He returned her stare with his own intense gaze, amused by her   
reaction. He watched her curiously as she gradually overcame whatever   
spell she was under.  
  
"They're beautiful but hardly necessary," she whispered hurriedly,   
sniffing the unbelievably wonderful scent drifting off the soft petals and   
wondering just what had been so interesting over her head. It was   
disconcerting to have to stare so far up at a man. She was used to wearing   
her heels and he made her feel very small. His large body filled her   
doorway entirely. She suddenly remembered the manners her mother had   
spent so mush time drilling into her. She had already screwed up the order   
of things  
  
"Come in." Serena stuttered. "Thank you. You really didn't have to,   
you know."  
  
"I could hardly come empty handed," Darien replied to her first   
comment. "It didn't seem the thing to do when a man informs a woman   
that he will marry her." He walked through the door forcing her to step   
aside to accommodate his large body. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd   
ever let me in."  
  
Serena froze and her face suddenly went pale in shock.   
  
"You're going to marry me?" She asked dumbfounded, unwilling to   
believe the words she had been preparing herself all week not to hear.   
Discovering that she wanted him to marry her had naturally made her   
believe that with her luck he would definitely decide against it. She had   
wondered what she would do if he said yes but she hadn't really prepared   
herself for the possibility.  
  
He was amused by the way she had simply stared at him shocked.   
Her big blue eyes simply stared at him wide eyed and dumbfounded. He   
found himself smiling but stopped when he realized that she might have   
been hoping he'd say no. It would certainly free her from having to fulfill   
her familial obligations. That didn't sit well with him. He wanted her to   
want him and it disturbed him to find himself in such a vulnerable position.  
  
"I hope I haven't disappointed you," he said formally. "I assumed   
this was what you wanted."  
  
"I'm sorry," Serena, replied managing to compose herself slightly. "I   
do, it's just that I'm surprised that you agreed. You hardly seem the type to   
willingly tie yourself down to one woman."  
  
"What type am I exactly he asked," deliberately baiting her?  
  
"I…" she couldn't really answer without embarrassing herself and   
insulting him. "The much wanted kind I suppose," Serena replied   
diplomatically and with far more truth than she had expected to allow to   
get past her lips. She was embarrassed by the revelation and she had the   
impression her face was glowing a rather indelicate shade of pink.  
Darien raised an eyebrow and she was suddenly faced with the full   
effect of his grin. It was unnerving. No man should have such a perfect   
smile set in an already perfect face. It was simply too much.  
  
"Do you want me?" Darien asked teasingly. He was amused at the   
way her eyes widened in shock and her face went from that delightful shade   
of pink to beet red. She didn't give him an answer, not that he'd expected   
one. Even he knew that the question was impertinent, but becoming her   
fiancé did give him certain liberties didn't it?   
  
Serena failed pathetically at trying to maintain a calm demeanor   
after his surprising question. She then did the only thing she could think to   
do to get out of his line of sight. She offered him a drink.   
As if to prolong her torture he refused. She offered him a seat; he   
accepted but still didn't sit, instead he made an offer of his own.  
  
"I didn't mean to interrupt your bath. Do you want to get dressed? I'll   
wait right here if you like."  
  
It was only then that she remembered that all she wore was a   
bathrobe that was open all the way down the middle of her chest. She   
hurriedly grabbed the collar and pulled it close. It seemed whatever she did   
amused him. He stared down at her in his usually intense fashion that   
made her feel like a deer frozen in headlights. All she could do was return   
his stare, yet looking in his eyes was extremely unsettling.   
  
"There's need to cover up for me you know. We're getting married;   
I'll see them eventually."  
  
Annoyance won out over any other emotion she might have felt at the   
moment. "Does everything you have to say have some sort of sexual   
connotation to it?"  
  
"No. I believe I offered you the opportunity to get dressed and I did   
say I'd wait here while you did so. If I was interested in making sexual   
advances," and he was, but she didn't need to know, "I would have offered   
to dress you myself, or undress you as it suits me."  
  
"You are absolutely infuriating! I hardly know you but you show up at   
my door with flowers, inform me you're going to marry me, behave as   
though I should be gratified that you should sink so low as to do so, and   
then start making sexually suggestive comments, and I'm supposed to be   
ok with this?"  
  
"It would be nice if you were." He was smiling again. "Also I don't   
believe I insinuated that you should be grateful that I'm willing to marry   
you. Nor do I consider it sinking. "  
  
Serena couldn't believe this was the same man she had sat down to   
dinner with twice. The first time he'd seemed the quiet, brooding,   
unemotional type. The second he'd been all that, if a bit more charming.   
This, however, was something completely different. He was teasing.   
Everything he said and did seemed sexually charged. He seemed set on   
getting extreme emotional reactions from her, and he was succeeding.   
  
She couldn't be sure if the electric intensity between them was   
something he'd done purposefully or something she alone experienced due   
to her mysterious attraction to him. She certainly didn't harbor any   
illusions that he might share that attraction. She'd seen the women he   
dated and could discern few similarities between them and her. Right now   
however the attraction she knew she was feeling served only to fuel her   
anger. It was embarrassing to find herself attracted to a man who seemed   
determined to be a complete ass.  
  
She decided against saying anything that would make her feel like an   
ass too. She simply turned on her heel and left the room. This was not the   
way she had envisioned starting off a marriage. If she'd stayed engaged to   
Andrew she would not be having this problem right now.  
  
A marriage! To that man? How ridiculous! "This is my life?" She   
thought. " How pathetic!"   
  
Darien wasn't sure what he was doing. He had found some strange   
sort of amusement in upsetting her. He was in a strange mood.   
When he'd finally decided to inform her of his decision he'd done   
some very strange things. First he'd taken more time getting ready than   
usual. He had worn a black Hugo Boss suit, Setsuna had personally chosen   
for him. It was a bit fashion forward rather than traditional but she'd   
insisted he looked wonderful. He'd thought the flowers a bit much but she   
had handed them to him and insisted he give them to Serena. What she   
hadn't insisted on was the constant smiling his face was not used to but   
that seemed to appear the moment she had opened the door and stood   
before him in her bathrobe.  
  
He hadn't realized she was so small. She looked far younger than she   
should have standing before him barefooted and wet looking like some sort   
of water sprite. Enchanting really.  
  
He could hardly believe the things he had said to her just now. He'd   
behaved like a teenager.   
  
Still steaming about Darien's odd behavior Serena was standing   
before her closet attempting to decide what to wear. She was on the verge   
of choosing a pretty summer dress when she decided against it. Why   
should she get all dressed up for him so he could look her over and decide   
to make some sexually charged comment that was probably more mockery   
than anything else. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She pulled on a   
T-shirt and a pair of jeans.  
  
Still bare-footed she padded back to the living room. He was   
examining her CD collection.  
  
"See something you like?"   
  
"No." he replied emotionlessly. Just no, as though her CDs had   
offended him in some way. Serena frowned.  
  
"Have you informed my father as yet?"  
  
"No." Once more, a one-word answer. The man was aggravating. He   
hadn't even looked up since she came into the room.  
  
"Why not? You could have you know. You didn't have to wait to tell   
me first."  
  
"I'm not marrying your father, Serena, I'm marrying you. The merger   
documents won't be signed until the ink on our marriage license is dry   
anyway."   
  
"The way you say that I could almost believe you want to." Serena   
said softly.  
  
"What makes you think I don't?" Serena visibly recoiled as though his   
words had stung.  
  
"I don't know you and you most certainly don't know me so please   
don't pretend as though this could be a normal relationship or a normal   
marriage. I gave up the opportunity for that when I agreed to marry you.   
The only reason you're here is to make sure your business deal goes   
through and I am just fulfilling my familial obligations so please don't mock   
me!" Having vented some of her feelings she was left trembling with the   
emotional backlash. She ran the brush she'd brought from her room   
through her wet hair rather harshly and succeeded in pulling on a tangle   
and hurting herself. She tossed the brush aside in frustration.   
She felt ridiculous. Somehow his pretending to make this seem like it   
could be a normal relationship annoyed her greatly. If he had any other   
choice he certainly wouldn't have chosen her of all the women he knew and   
it hurt to have him mock her pretending as though they could both be fully   
satisfied by this arrangement.  
  
Darien merely raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Serena watched   
curiously as he walked over to the coffee table and picked up the discarded   
brush.  
  
"What are you doing?" He said nothing but continued to approach   
her. In less than a moment he was towering over her again.   
  
"Turn around," he ordered.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Just turn around." For some reason she felt compelled to obey and   
she did. He picked up a length of wet curls and began brushing it, starting   
from the ends, as she should have.  
  
"I know the people who work for me consider me to be an ogre but   
contrary to popular belief I'm perfectly capable of seeing things in a more   
positive light. I find it hard to believe that you'd want to spend the rest of   
your life with me in a marriage in name only. We don't have to, you know.   
In the eyes of the law we will be man and wife and I'm sure you don't want   
to spend the rest of your life in an empty marriage.  
  
"Are you actually suggesting that we make this a real marriage?"   
Serena questioned awed that he'd actually want to be with her in that   
manner." He couldn't possibly be serious. He wouldn't dare make another   
mockery of the situation.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I just… I didn't think you'd …"  
  
"First and foremost, Serena, I am male." Serena blushed brightly. So   
that was his reason. She should have known. She hadn't expected him to be   
the type to settle however and that hurt even more.  
  
"Naturally you think I'm talking about sex. You're absolutely right;   
you are very male, typically so. Marriage isn't built on sex however, so if   
you think that that's all there is to it you are sadly mistaken. I have no   
intention of feeling like a whore."  
  
"Sleeping with your husband would make you a whore? The world   
must be filled with them. What exactly did you expect? This is a business   
deal Serena and you are a businesswoman, and assuming you are as   
intelligent as I previously assumed, I'm sure the whole concept doesn't   
elude you. " His tone was harsh and his features cold.  
  
"I'm perfectly capable of understanding what the situation is and I   
have no doubt that nowhere in the contract does it require me to sleep with   
you!"  
  
"You expect me to believe that you intend to spend the rest of your   
life celibate? I won't have my wife running around with other men, so if   
that's what you were thinking, you may very well put that thought out of   
your mind." He was towering over her, looking decidedly intimidating.   
  
"I find it difficult to believe you'd give up all 'your women' just so you   
could marry me!"  
  
"What I find difficult to believe is that you can be so pigheaded about   
this when you are the one who suggested this arrangement in the first   
place. I think it's a little late in your life to be playing the virginal maid. I   
can't conceive that you'd actually prefer to spend the rest of your life   
celibate than to share a bed with me!"  
  
"Obviously your ego has gotten a bit of control. You apparently have   
a hard time believing any woman would actually be able to resist you. I   
hate to burst your bubble but you aren't completely irresistible!" Serena   
wasn't even sure she believed that. She hoped it didn't show on her face.  
He was unnaturally calm as he stared down at her, eyebrows raised.   
  
"Did you have to do that?" He asked almost painfully. "I was actually   
beginning to think I was perfect, and I was quite content in that assumption   
until you came along."  
  
"Are you serious!" Serena asked incredulously, unwilling to believe   
how easily he switched back into this teasing mode.  
  
"Of course not! I know I'm perfect and even you couldn't change   
that." He grinned at her.  
  
"Do you have some kind of emotional problem? I was trying to have a   
serious conversation and here you are teasing me!"  
  
"Well I could tell you what I really think but I have a feeling that   
would just upset you further."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"I'm not sure why you feel the need to push me away as soon as I   
suggest turning this into a real marriage, especially since, even now you're   
looking at me as if I'm the first and only man you've ever seen." Her face   
turned an embarrassed and annoyed shade of red.  
  
"You are such an arrogant bastard!" To her surprise he looked quite   
pleased with himself.  
  
"I've been called worse. Now since you're dressed, would you like to   
have dinner with me?"  
  
"No not particularly."  
  
"Glad you see it my way, let's go." He stepped aside expecting her to   
head towards the door.  
  
Serena sighed. She supposed she might as well give in. There was no   
point in resisting, soon she'd be married to him and she'd have to be seen   
in public with him anyway.  
  
"I suppose I should change."  
  
"Don't bother, I'll change when we get back to my place."  
  
"Your place?"  
  
"Yes, my place."  
  
"I see. And why exactly do we need to go to your place?"  
  
"So I can change to match you."  
  
"Fine!"  
  
"Good. You'll need shoes, unless you want me to carry you."  
  
"No thank you. I'll get my shoes." She didn't just get her shoes. She   
put on the simple summer dress she'd eyed before. She didn't need to be   
outshone by a man in public although she doubted the casual but pretty   
lavender dress would really accomplish the monumental task she had   
assigned it.  
  
He smiled when she returned to the living room.  
  
"I take it the 'obey your husband' part of our marriage will be a   
debate with you."  
  
"You are smarter than you look." She smart-mouthed as they walked   
out the door.   
  
  
The drive over had been relatively quiet. Darien was somewhat   
seething inside. Her refusal to share his bed annoyed him.   
He had never for a moment considered that she might not want him   
as he wanted her. She was the one who had put forth this marriage.   
Granted, he knew she'd done it at her father's behest but she hadn't   
seemed at all opposed to the idea when she'd defended her father's idea at   
dinner.   
  
He certainly never expected such forceful opposition, but apparently   
she saw herself as the sacrificial lamb of her family and a not too happy   
little lamb at that. He had been told repeatedly he was an attractive man,   
what could she possibly want that he couldn't give her?   
  
Serena was surprised to find them pulling up to the same building in   
which she knew Darien worked. She had been equally surprised to find that   
Darien was a decent driver. The level of arrogance to which he subscribed   
usually implied he was the type to drive sports cars around cars at a   
  
minimum of twice the speed limit.   
  
"I thought you said you were going home?"  
  
"I am."  
  
"You live here?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Serena wouldn't be surprised to find he lived out of his office. Any   
man who would get married as a part of a business deal would be paranoid   
enough to live in his office for fear of missing any important business calls.   
She wondered if his secretary lived there too.  
  
"I don't suppose you have your secretary live here too, answering   
calls twenty-four seven?"  
  
"I think Setsuna's fiancée would take offense to that. I should have   
offered though, it would certainly have made business so much more   
efficient." Serena rolled her eyes. His sense of humor needed work.  
  
"If it makes you feel better, I don't live in my office. I live in the pent   
house. "   
  
"That's good to know. Don't tell my father you live here. He'll start   
making plans for one of his own; anything to stay as close to the center of   
business you know."  
  
"I bet your mother would be upset about that."  
  
"I doubt it." Darien watched her face for a change but saw none.   
Whatever she referred to apparently was the normal state of things for her   
family and she didn't bother to elaborate.   
  
"Setsuna calls my place "The Bachelor Pad."  
  
"Should I buy air freshener then?" Serena teased.  
  
"You will eat those words."   
  
  
  
The long elevator ride up to the thirty-eighth floor was a quiet one.   
They was little either could find to say to each other.   
  
"I hope you're not afraid of heights."  
  
"I work on the thirty-first floor."  
  
"Good, I have very large windows and not many walls." She raised an   
eyebrow but said nothing. The elevator came to a stop and Darien used his   
keys to let the door open unto the floor he had all to himself.  
Although Serena had expected a large apartment she hadn't   
expected what she saw when the doors opened. Before her lay one of the   
most luxurious apartments she'd ever seen. He wasn't kidding when he   
said he had few walls. She stepped out unto the black marble, her sandals   
echoing. It seemed the entire first section of the floor was separated by   
nothing but large painted Japanese screens. The furniture was low and   
dark and light seemed to come from all directions. The only distinct rooms   
seemed to be a kitchen and bathrooms. Up ahead beyond a series of steps   
she assumed there were bedrooms. Here and there were some of the most   
beautiful works of art she'd ever seen, including a marble sculpture of a   
nude woman, Japanese paintings on the screens that separated the section   
of the room as well as other paintings on the walls and beautiful vases   
whose worth she didn't doubt was vast. It was like a museum and it   
smelled just fine.  
  
There was nothing feminine about it though. The apartment was   
distinctly male.  
  
"Are you sure you live here?" she asked, when she'd recovered from   
her awe.  
  
"Last time I checked," he replied, happy to see he'd impressed her   
at last.  
  
"It suits you. You must have paid your interior decorator a fortune,   
not to mention the dealer of these art pieces.  
  
"Actually, I didn't hire a designer and I collected these pieces myself,   
with the exception of the screens. Setsuna acquired those for me in Japan   
in addition to all the other Japanese paintings and that jade Buddha. "  
  
"Setsuna is Japanese then?"  
  
"Yes, she's the daughter of one of my mother's friends. She's my   
personal secretary, my right hand I guess."  
  
"It's beautiful. I assumed you'd be more of a minimalist, like my   
father."  
  
"Making assumptions are dangerous. I assumed you'd be quiet,   
sweet, and manageable."  
  
"How did you get so far in the business world making stupid   
assumptions like that?"   
  
Darien had to smile at that. He admitted to himself that quiet and   
manageable would definitely not have been this interesting or this   
attractive. Her hair had dried and curled all around her face and down her   
back. She was smiling at her own quip and he was suddenly frozen for a   
second unable to say anything.  
  
"Darien?" Her questioning look forced him to snap out of his star   
struck daze.  
  
"Didn't you say you wanted to change or are you waiting for me to   
help you?"   
  
He smiled again, one of those devastating ones that made her   
stomach do that terrible flip-flop it had been doing every time she looked at   
him.  
  
He chucked her chin and barely above a whisper said, "careful, I   
might take you up on that." He turned and walked out of the room, heading   
up the small steps that led to his bedroom.  
  
Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him leave. She let   
out the breath with some difficulty setting her whole body trembling. She   
hadn't realized how fast her heart was beating. Why was he affecting her   
like this? One moment aggravatingly teasing, the other amazingly   
appealing.   
  
She was examining a few pictures she noticed sitting on a mantle. In   
one, a Japanese woman in a kimono stood side by side with a much taller   
blonde man whose arm rested on the petite woman's shoulder. They were   
his parents she deduced. In another a beautiful girl with dark brown hair   
sat poised and elegant, a violin resting in the crook of her neck beneath her   
chin. She recognized her although the picture was an older one. She was   
the famous violinist Michelle Derencourt, Darien's sister. She also knew her   
as Alex's girlfriend. She had never really made the connection between   
Michelle and Darien. Until these past few weeks he'd just been a name, one   
she hadn't paid too much attention to.  
  
She didn't even hear him when he walked up behind her.   
  
"She doesn't like me you know." Serena whirled around to find   
herself facing Darien, who looked as amazing as usual in a close fitting   
black t-shirt and black pants.   
  
"What?" Serena questioned attempting to hide the embarrassment of   
the way her eyes roved over his amazing body.   
  
"My sister; we've always been in a sort of competition with each   
other. My mother said it was because we were too much alike. We don't   
talk much anymore. She thinks I hate lesbians, because I don't get along   
with her girlfriend. I just don't like her girlfriend," he said frankly. He   
smiled.  
  
"I like her girlfriend."  
  
"Oh yes, she's an exec at Kyler isn't she? It's ironic that I get blamed   
for the animosity between us. Alex doesn't exactly like me much either.   
"I don't suppose she would," Serena commented. "She doesn't like   
men, especially one's like you; arrogant and self-important. Ironically she's   
like you too."  
  
"I'll try not to be insulted by that."  
  
" Where are we going?" She asked.  
  
"Unless you want to head elsewhere I was thinking of heading out to   
the pier."  
  
"That's fine with me. Oceania?"  
  
"Yes; great view, good food."  
  
  
They were halfway through their meal and the sun was setting over   
the bay casting a magnificent golden glow over the table they shared   
outside the restaurant. It had been a wonderful meal but there was a   
certain tension between them. They were avoiding any discussion of their   
future together. Serena was staring at the beautiful picture the birds made   
flying across sky with the golden setting sun as a backdrop. It was far   
easier than looking at her dinner partner.  
  
Until now their conversation had been comfortably impersonal.   
They'd talked about everything else from business to politics but had   
danced around the very reason why they were having dinner together. At   
least they had. They had been enjoying a comfortable silence when Darien   
spoke.  
  
"Tomorrow is Sunday. The papers will carry an announcement of our   
engagement. Monday morning everyone who bothered to read will want to   
know what happened including a few members of the press."  
  
"What!" Serena screeched. "You told the press already? When did   
you do this? Never mind, why did you put out an announcement before you   
even told me or my father?"  
  
"It wasn't necessary, the decision was up to me after all whether or   
not I'd agree. I merely handled the matter in the most efficient manner   
possible."  
  
"By putting an announcement in the society pages? Do you even   
realize I never announced the break of my engagement to Andrew? How's it   
going to look when I suddenly dump my fiancée for another?"  
  
"I wouldn't worry too much about that," Darien replied   
unsympathetically. "I'm sure you'll come up with something to say."   
Serena was forced to clamp her mouth shut before she said something that   
would reduce their conversation to angry words. It was her problem to deal   
with anyway; this marriage was for the benefit of her family. She had   
agreed to do this and so it was her job to deal with whatever happened as a   
result.   
  
"I have something I think you'll need." Serena watched curiously as   
he reached into his pocket and set a small black box on the table. She was   
stunned. She knew immediately what the small black box yelled. She didn't   
reach for it.  
  
An engagement ring; the symbol of their union. Somehow the idea of   
wearing something that represented such a lie did not appeal to her really,   
but still she felt a sort of anticipation, similar to the time Andrew had   
proposed except she was far more scared of this than she had been of that.   
It seemed for a moment the finality of the situation came rushing towards   
her. She would wear his ring, she would stand before God and man and   
make this man her husband and she would spend the rest of her life with   
him. Here heart raced as she stared at the box frozen.  
  
Seeing her unwillingness to reach for the box, Darien flipped it open.   
Serena's already wide eyes opened far wider when she saw the contents of   
the box. A large radiant cut diamond with an intense pink undertone   
winked at her flanked on either side by large deep blue sapphires in a   
platinum setting. She didn't doubt that each and every one of the jewels   
was flawless. It was exquisite and ran just short of ostentatious. She was   
awed.   
  
"It's beautiful," she whispered.   
  
Darien smiled and reached for her hand. He removed the ring from   
its black velvet-resting place and slid it onto her finger. "A perfect fit, and   
to think I guessed."   
  
  
He had great taste Serena thought, still staring down at her hand;   
great taste in art, in jewelry and god only knew what else.  
  
"I thought it would be in bad taste to ask you to marry me so you'll   
understand if I don't get down on my knees."  
  
Serena smiled and for the first time that evening she met his eyes.   
They were beautiful eyes; much like the sapphires in the ring he'd just   
given her. They merely held each other's gaze for a moment smiling   
intently at each other until Serena blushed and returned her gaze to her   
dinner, self consciously aware that he was still looking at her.   
  



	8. Inc. Chapter 7

Title: Inc-Chapter 7  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
  
When Serena awoke the next morning the first thing she saw was the   
sparkle of the diamond as the sun streaking through her bedroom's   
curtains hit its multifaceted surface. It was an instant reminder of the   
previous night. After he'd given the ring to her things had become   
incredibly tense between them and the most of the rest of the evening was   
spent in silence punctuated only by the short bursts of conversation. It had   
made the ending of the night rather odd.  
  
She remembered he had walked her to her door, which had made   
her so nervous not knowing what would come next. At some point during   
the evening it had seemed that their outing had turned into something of a   
first date; a rather unusual first date in which she had become engaged.   
She had wondered how he'd end the evening. Would he kiss her goodnight,   
like a real fiancée? Would he shake her hand like the business partner she   
technically was? It had been a mystery until it happened.  
  
He had done a rather brilliant combination of both really. It hadn't   
been too much and at the same time it affected her even more than if he'd   
taken her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. It had made her wonder   
about just how things would really be in the future. Maybe just maybe they   
could be more than just business partners… and that was the thought with   
which she was left to consider for the rest of the night when he'd gently   
taken her hand into his own and while never taking his eyes of her face   
kissed the back of her hand gently. For that moment he'd made her feel   
like a princess and he was the handsome prince with the brilliantly   
beautiful eyes and stunningly gorgeous smile. Fortunately she was able to   
restrain herself before she took the fantasy to an entirely new level.  
Willing herself to get out of bed, she padded to her front door to get   
the newspaper in which she knew she'd see the announcement of her   
engagement. It got more real by the second and somehow more   
acceptable. She wondered what everyone else would think when they found   
out. Unexpectedly, she found herself amused by the imaginings of stunned   
reactions, not from her close friends who already knew but from her   
coworkers and other relatives.  
  
It suddenly occurred to her that she had never told her mother about   
this. She doubted her father had either. It would be typical of him not to   
inform her. If he had, she would have called to say something, anything at   
all.   
  
She picked up the paper and turned to the society section where   
separate pictures of her and of Darien stood out under the announcement   
of engagements. He'd certainly been thorough, she commented to herself   
wryly. It seemed he wanted everyone to know and be sure of the fact that   
they were now an official couple. Just as she put the paper aside to make   
herself some sort of breakfast, the phone rang and it continued to do so all   
day. A few of her friends call to offer their somewhat muted congratulations   
on Darien's acceptance but the first person however, was her mother.  
  
It was a rather one-sided conversation. Her mother said quite a bit,   
cried happily and gave her an enormous guilt trip for not having told her   
before, and having had to read the news in the newspaper like a stranger.   
She didn't bother explaining that it was a business deal because her   
mother seemed awfully content to believe that Serena had tastelessly   
dumped one fiancée for another. Once she'd gotten past Serena's   
'unladylike' behavior she chattered a bit about true love and whatnot.   
Serena wondered if somehow her mother hoped for more for her than she   
herself had had. She suddenly realized that maybe her mother wasn't   
everything she had always thought her to be. Maybe she had always held   
some secret hope for her daughter to marry the man she loved like she'd   
never had the chance to.  
  
Darien called too and they had a civil conversation without the snide   
remarks that had started their meeting on the previous day. It wasn't a   
long conversation but it was one that had left her pondering, for the rest of   
the day, why her heart had suddenly sped up at the sound of his voice on   
the phone or why she'd suddenly got that nervous shakiness in the pit of   
her stomach. Was it a good thing to be marrying a man whose very voice   
made her nervous?  
  
Serena skipped work on Monday rather than face any   
questions any of her coworkers might have had. The day off also allowed   
for her to be suckered into a lunch with her mother. Her mother was   
suddenly very curious about what was going on in her life. She wanted to   
know everything there was to know about Darien, sadly Serena knew little   
about him on a personal level. Her mother would be surprised to find   
herself in the position of finding all about Darien from the man himself. It   
would save her the inadequate explanations she would have given. Darien   
was also meeting her for lunch; he'd invited himself along. He was turning   
into a regular fiancée.   
  
He had called her everyday since they had dinner and she had to   
admit he was turning out to be a very nice guy. She wondered if she   
shouldn't be grateful for having been tossed into this situation with him.   
Especially when she considered that under normal circumstances he would   
never have looked at her twice. She didn't feel very grateful however, she   
felt inadequate. She felt that somehow he was being cheated.   
  
While she was doing this for, what she had convinced herself to be   
noble reasons he was entering into a relationship, which he never would   
have even considered, solely for the purpose of profit. She felt sorry for him   
that he would do this. He couldn't possibly have thought this out   
thoroughly. Didn't he care that he would be spending the rest of his life   
possibly regretting ever marrying her and all for a bit more money that with   
his brilliance he could have probably made on his own?  
  
Maybe he planned to ditch her once the papers were signed. Being   
married hadn't stopped many men from having relationships with other   
women. Her aunt's husband for example had a mistress in the grand   
tradition of many wealthy men. She didn't want to even think about   
whether or not her father had one of his own, it certainly was a possibility.  
She wasn't sure if she could handle knowing her husband cheated   
on her. He had demanded her loyalty when he had vehemently let her know   
he wouldn't tolerate her cheating on him. He hadn't however, made any   
promises of his own.  
  
Serena met her mother and Darien at a small bistro. He stood up to   
greet her running his eyes over the flowing white tunic and matching pants   
with a certain possessiveness that, much like the sound of his voice, made   
her nervous. She could barely contain her wide-eyed surprise when he   
kissed her on the cheek as though it were the most normal thing in the   
world.  
  
"Hello sweetheart," he said huskily, still staring at her. She resisted   
the urge to glare at him for the show he was putting on for her mother who   
sat across from him looking like a rather pleased puss. The smile that   
spread across her face when Darien greeted her was so grand; she couldn't   
quite recall having seen one like it for a long time. Apparently Darien had   
charmed her to an extent to which Andrew hadn't even aspired. She   
wondered if he had even told her that it was merely a business   
arrangement; by the look on her face her guess was no.  
  
"Darien was telling me all about himself, Serena. It's quite ironic that   
Andrew introduced you two isn't it? Seems you two hit it off right away.   
This wonderful man is the reason you broke up with Andrew isn't it? I can't   
say I blame you although quite frankly sweetheart, your method leaves   
something to be desired.   
  
"The whole family is talking about it! Your grandmother is having a fit   
you know, and your cousin Tammy is positively green with envy. The least   
you could have done is let your family know! Although I can hardly blame   
you for wanting to keep him for yourself, I can't understand how you can   
help not boasting about a wonderful catch like this.  
  
"It's positively romantic, in a modern way of course. I bet we can   
keep the same wedding planner. When are you two going to tie the knot?   
Will it be soon? You must let me know so I can get a head start…"  
Serena was staring in a rather stunned air-headed way at her mother   
who continued rambling on an on in her excitement. Darien merely sat   
back and stared at Serena in amusement. It had begun all over again.   
Eventually Serena gave up on really answering her mother's questions and   
paid much more attention to the meal before her although it was a rather   
difficult task with Darien sitting across from her looking at her as though   
she were the only woman around.   
  
She found herself daydreaming, wondering what life with Darien   
would be like. She found herself considering the positive benefits of waking   
up next to him every morning. She wondered what he looked like when he   
was sleeping with those extraordinarily long lashes of his resting against   
his cheeks. Did he wear pajamas; cotton, silk, nothing at all? Her face was   
slowly painted red as her thoughts drifted. Just then she looked up at   
Darien and her face was even redder. Why was he still looking at her and   
smiling?  
  
Darien couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. There was something   
about her that made his thoughts run on her constantly. There was the   
obvious fact that she was beautiful. He couldn't help goading her just to   
see her blue eyes widen. It certainly was no excuse to stare at her as   
though she were the only one around. He hadn't even heard much of   
anything Helen had said in the past few minutes.   
  
He wondered what Serena was thinking. She didn't seem to be   
listening much to her mother either, not that Helen noticed. His curiosity   
heightened when he saw her face deepen in color. She looked up at him   
and her face turned darker. He would have given a fortune to know what   
thought had caused the embarrassed look he'd seen on her face.  
Helen was still rambling on and on when she was interrupted by a   
petite woman in a red suit. The woman's hair was a rather unnatural shade   
of red and she wore an excess of makeup that wouldn't have looked so   
unbelievably unnatural if it weren't for her penciled eyebrows and spider   
lashes. She greeted Helen with a rather high-pitched screech that could   
raise the hairs on a cats back.   
  
Helen gave the woman a rather brilliant fake smile and returned her   
greeting.   
  
"I don't believe I've met these two beautiful young people," the   
woman said, forcing an introduction. By the look on her face, Darien had no   
doubt that the woman had a very good idea who he was.  
  
"Amanda, this is my daughter Serena and her fiancée Darien   
Derencourt."  
  
"It's very good to meet you. You two make a wonderful couple." Her   
eyes glinted mysteriously. "Well it was lovely seeing you again Helen.   
Maybe we can get together sometime."  
  
"Yes of course," Helen replied non-committal.   
  
"Who was that Mom?" Serena asked when the woman had left.  
  
"A rather annoying gossip columnist who fancies herself a friend,"   
Helen replied. Darien frowned but said nothing.   
  
  
  
A little while later Serena's mother excused herself from the two   
'lovebirds'. She of course had to attend to the details of a wedding that had   
no set date. Serena was curious as to why Darien had not returned to work   
and asked him as much.  
  
"I'm not in the habit of leaving beautiful women alone," he replied.  
  
"Believe me I noticed," Serena whispered.  
  
"You need to watch more closely then. No other woman is here but   
you, and I am not going anywhere."  
  
Serena gasped, unwilling to believe he'd actually spoken those   
words to her. But truly what surprised her was that he would abandon the   
business that seemed to be his life, for which he was sacrificing his   
bachelorhood, just to spend time with her.  
  
"Don't look so shocked. You're making me look like an ogre who   
never pays his fiancée any compliments." Serena continued to stare at him   
silently. Trying to figure out if he was teasing her or if he genuinely wanted   
to be with her as his words implied."  
  
"If you don't say something soon I believe I'm going to have to bring   
your mother back just for someone to listen to and by the expression on   
your face while she was chit chatting away you wouldn't particularly enjoy   
that."  
  
"Sorry," Serena said quietly. "I was just surprised you said that. It   
sounded almost flowery. I never would have guessed you were the flowery   
type," She teased, smiling gently, relieved to have her brain finally at work   
once again.  
  
"Flowery? That hurts." He placed a hand over his chest in a pathetic   
attempt to look wounded that made Serena laugh. She had no doubt that   
even in a situation where he was truly hurt he'd still look proud and   
unconquered.   
  
"Welcome back to reality. You haven't really said much since you   
arrived."  
  
"I was too stunned by how quickly you managed to charm my   
mother."  
  
"It must be my floweriness." Serena smiled again something he was   
beginning to realize he enjoyed seeing. He still hadn't gotten that toothy   
grin out of her he wanted to see and he hadn't made her laugh yet.  
  
"What exactly did you say to her? She seems like she's ready to take   
you for her own."  
  
"Well it's not so much what I said as what I didn't say. I just didn't   
bother telling her about our arrangement so as far as she and everyone else   
is concerned we are a happily in live soon to be married couple."  
Serena sighed. "So she thinks we fell in love at first sight and I   
dumped Andrew so I could have you. Just great. Everyday my character   
takes a beating."  
  
"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Notoriety can give you a   
certain amount of power. Believe me I know."  
  
Serena shook her head. "How do you live like that? You are the only   
businessman I have ever known or heard of with whom the press is so   
enamored. How do you go through every day knowing that there is always   
someone watching you waiting to see what you do next?   
  
Darien shrugged. You get used to it I suppose. I certainly never   
expected to be 'famous'. It isn't something that happens in the business   
world. At first I was annoyed by the fact that it seemed there was always   
someone watching, waiting to see what I did next; whether it was the SEC,   
the finance journals, or journalists with nothing better to do, there was   
always someone. I still haven't figured out just what is so fascinating about   
me that makes me newsworthy."  
  
"You don't know?" Serena asked incredulously, unwilling to believe   
that anyone as beautiful as he did not sit and admire themselves in the   
mirror. Were she that gorgeous, she supposed she might be horribly   
conceited. It wasn't even so much his good looks but the fact that he   
emanated this aura that was just utterly sensual. He was the romance hero,   
every woman's fantasy brought to life in a manner that outdid any of the   
feminine imaginings and heroic fantasies of all the romance novelists who'd   
ever written of their vision of the perfect man.  
  
"Why? Do you?" Certainly, she couldn't subscribe to the unreal   
fantasies all the women he'd known held about him. Of course she didn't.   
She'd made that plainly obvious.  
  
Serena was a practical woman; she had no time to put him up on   
the pedestal of romantic hero come to sweep her off her feet. She certainly   
didn't want him and somehow that made her all the more fascinating if a   
bit frustrating to him. He couldn't help basking in the irony of strangely   
coming to want the one woman who didn't seem to want him.  
  
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" She questioned, unwilling to   
believe he did not recognize himself as the most handsome CEO to ever sit   
on the board of directors anywhere. She' looked through a good hundred or   
so stock portfolios, been to a good dozen conventions and almost every top   
executive in the country was a white haired old man with a pot belly and   
the personality of a goat. Darien was the ultimate exception and therein   
laid the fascination with everything he said and did.  
  
Until now she had not even given much thought to just who this man   
was who waltzed in to the business world, swooped down like a hawk, and   
captured the much desired position of one of America's most successful   
men and sexiest bachelors. Now that he was supposed to be hers she   
found herself dabbling in the same fantasies that just weeks before she   
would have credited as being utterly ridiculous.   
  
Somehow, even though she now had the one man half the women in   
the world seemed to want, she found herself in a rather distressingly ironic   
situation. She had the man every woman wanted and he didn't even love   
her. Worse yet she felt herself being drawn into his alluring web of   
attraction. It would be far too easy to fall in love with him and she couldn't   
face a lifetime of loving a man who didn't love her.  
  
"I know I'm handsome Serena. I have been told so, so often that I   
often wonder why it hasn't gone to my head completely. I seriously doubt   
that I am the only handsome man in the business world! Why aren't they   
fascinated with Andrew, or your father's right hand man, what's his name?"  
  
"Davidson?" Serena asked frowning at the thought and secretly   
wondering if Darien was out of his mind. "He has no Charisma." And   
besides, Serena added to herself, he does not quite meet your level. "As for   
Andrew, he was born into this society. You are new and therefore of   
significantly more interest."  
  
"You make it sound as though I just joined some club."  
  
"That's what it feel like sometimes. It's an entire social club of the   
rich. They try to exclude anyone who doesn't have their 'breeding'.   
Unfortunately for them the twentieth century arrived and they don't have   
the same power anymore."  
  
"Don't they? If they don't why are you marrying me, knowing that   
divorce isn't even an option? You are being loyal to the very traditions of   
that society despite your personal desires." He watched her face and saw   
she was about to object. He knew what she'd say. She'd reiterate the same   
nonsense of loyalty to her family and that was certainly the last thing he   
wanted to hear. He raised his palms before her, signaling her silence.   
  
"I know what you're going to say. You're being loyal to your family.   
But your family is the top dog in this little social club and you are their   
princess. When you marry me, you secure the position of your family, and   
in turn the backbone of that society. This is hardly about you and me really.   
I just find it ironic that to save themselves they must sacrifice the purity of   
their bloodlines and assimilate those they disdain." Oddly he didn't sound   
bitter considering his words.   
  
"And yet you still agree to this proposition. Why is that? Why do you   
choose to allow this merger? Why do you voluntarily become a member of   
the Kyler family if you know just how our society works? You are already   
wealthy and successful. Why did you bother to proceed on this rescue   
mission, it couldn't possibly be out of the goodness of your heart?" Serena   
stared at him, daring him to answer the questions that had been running   
through her mind ever since he had informed her he would marry her.  
  
Darien raised an eyebrow and paused a moment before "Maybe I'm   
really a romantic hero after all. Maybe I want to rescue more than your   
family. Just maybe, I want to rescue you."  
  
  
  
Serena had been stunned by his answer, not to mention confused.   
Just what, did he suppose she needed rescuing from? She had asked that   
question but he hadn't answered. Maybe there really was no answer and   
he'd merely said it for its effect rather than any inherent meaning. The   
response he had given was as intriguing as anything he might have said.   
He'd kissed her hand and offered her dessert. She didn't bother to ply him   
for an answer.   
  
Not being one to refuse any type of dessert, Serena accepted his   
offer. They didn't stay at the bistro, however. Instead they began walk   
around the city, stopping by a ice-cream parlor on their way. The rest of the   
day was spent walking and talking enjoying each other's company to the   
fullest. Before they knew it four hours had passed and Serena's feet ached   
despite her comfortable sandals. Fortunately by that time they were down   
at the bay. For a long time they stood there quietly just taking in the beauty   
of the Pacific Ocean, until Darien finally spoke.  
  
"I meant what I said this weekend at your apartment. We can make   
this marriage as real as any out there. I want that for us; it's the best thing   
for us both." Serena was silent for a moment. For a while she thought. The   
question wasn't whether or not she could love him; that had become very   
obvious to her today. It was whether he would love her the way she desired.   
The solution was simple. She would be damned if she didn't try to make   
him fall in love with her as she already found herself falling for him.  
While she hadn't been looking at him, he had been staring intently at   
her and was surprised to see her smile brilliantly.   
  
"I think I'd like that." The words were more than music to his ears.   
He turned to her and smiled one of the brilliant smiles staring deeply into   
her soft blue eyes. As though there were a magnet between them, they   
drew closer together their eyelids drooping as their heads moved in   
towards each other. Their lips met gently at first before seemingly melting   
into a wondrous explosion of passion. The kiss sent chills rushing down   
Serena's spine and a heat rushing from her toes to where her tongue   
connected to Darien's, both dancing together in their shared moment of   
ardor.  
  
  
Serena was still glowing even when she woke up the next morning,   
practically on cloud nine. Lunch had led to dinner and they'd parted ways   
late last night only to spend the rest of the evening on the phone like   
smitten teenagers. She got to her office smiling all the way and greeted her   
secretary brightly.   
  
"Hi Molly!" Molly simply stared at Serena for a moment stunned.   
Serena was not exactly a morning person. She then remembered what she   
had read in the newspaper and returned Serena's brilliant smile with one of   
her own as well as an addition.  
  
"Congratulations Serena! I read about your engagement in the   
newspaper. What a catch! He is so handsome! That gossip columnist was   
so rude though. I couldn't believe the things she said!"  
  
"What gossip columnist?" Serena could feel that number nine cloud   
slowly beginning to dissolve beneath her feet.  
  
"Amanda Messier; she implies that you dumped Andrew for the   
better catch. She also claims that you and Mr. Derencourt must have been   
carrying on some secret romance for quite a while even while you were   
planning to marry Andrew." Serena clenched her jaw in anger. She picked   
up the newspaper on Molly's desk to see a small picture of her and Darien   
kissing at the docks. Below the picture was the paragraph dedicated to her   
and Darien.  
  
…before news of the break of Serena Kyler's   
engagement to the son of shipping magnate   
William Davenport, her engagement to multi-  
millionaire playboy businessman Darien   
Derencourt was announced just this past   
Sunday. There had been no evidence of a   
prior relationship between Ms. Kyler and Mr.   
Derencourt, which leads one to believe that   
whatever relationship they had must have   
been highly secretive and possibly carried on   
throughout her engagement to Davenport, as   
her newly acwuired fiancée Derencourt, just   
two weeks ago, was seen with supermodel   
Ambrose… Interestingly enough it seems   
Davenport and Ms. Kyler have remained   
friends and Davenport has also formed a   
relationship with Ms. Kyler's new love   
interest. It certainly makes for an interesting   
relationship between the three. Ms. Kyler has   
been a very very busy young woman…  
  
"I just met the woman yesterday and the vicious harpy is already   
trying to rip me to shreds! I refuse to let her ruin my day!"   
Just then, a deliveryman arrived asking for a Serena Kyler. Serena   
turned to accept the delivery that turned out to be a rather large bouquet of   
red and white roses. Molly oohed and ahhed over the romantic gesture   
Darien had bestowed on her. She opened the small note.   
  
"Just a little something, hoping and wishing you feel as good today as I   
do and really it's because of you."  
  
Everyday was turning out to be a new pleasant surprise and it was   
actually a wondrous feeling. She didn't give another thought to Amanda   
Messier. Cloud nine solidified beneath her feet again.  
  
  
"Her father visited later in the day and they had a short but pleasant   
conversation. The information about the merger would be revealed to the   
board a little while before the wedding but not sooner. He did suggest that   
wedding be over with sooner rather than later but that was all. Before the   
morning was over she received many congratulations by phone and in   
person from her co-workers. It annoyed her however that they all seemed to   
be extremely curious about her relationship but none were so rude as to   
ask. They women all gave her these subtle impressions that she had   
achieved the great feat of capturing 'The Man'. It reminded her too much of   
her cousins.  
  
At midday she was invited, along with Darien, by Lita to a late dinner   
that evening. It would be their first outing as a couple and something of a   
celebration of their engagement.   
  
For anyone else this dinner would be very awkward and certainly   
anyone who didn't understand the situation would expect it to be. Her   
closest friends would be there and that included Andrew. How many people   
could say that they were having an engagement celebration with their ex-  
fiancée of less than a month present? It gave her something to look forward   
to for the rest of the evening.  
  
  
  
Serena dressed for dinner to impress. Of course she had a specific   
person in mind. Technically this was a date so he was picking her up and   
she had this distinct impression he would be on time. Punctuality seemed   
a part of his personality. That was the reason she had begun to get dressed   
almost an hour before he was due to arrive.   
  
It was all in vain however. The doorbell rang before she even had the   
chance to pull the beige silk dress over her head and settle its sheer, white-  
flower-spotted layer into place. She needed a necklace to fill the wide, low   
neckline but she wouldn't have time to find one before getting the door.   
When Darien saw her he have an appreciative glance over her body.   
She noticed and turned to give him the full impression.  
  
"You like?"   
  
"I like. You know there are women who would kill to raid your closet."  
  
"I take pride in my collection. You should probably sit down I'm   
nowhere near ready."  
  
"There has to be something about you being barefooted every time   
I'm here," he said noticing her bare feet.   
  
"It's comfortable."  
  
  
It took another half hour before Serena was ready and they were of   
course the last to arrive at Lita's restaurant.   
Andrew winced painfully when he saw Serena enter the restaurant   
laughing with Darien. She was happy with him, not that he should have   
expected any less. From what he'd seen Darien Derencourt was what every   
woman wanted. Serena was happy and that should make him happy and it   
did somehow but it wasn't enough. He wanted her to be happy with him.   
He sighed and frowned but no one noticed besides Mina who knew   
everything and had been understanding. But there were problems helpful   
little sisters couldn't solve.  
  
It was a great dinner. Everything was going perfectly. Serena's   
friends teased the couple and they reacted warmly, teasing back. It all   
made for a wonderful atmosphere. Andrew had a mask of laughing   
amusement on his face that he put on for her. She didn't need to see him   
hurting when she was so happy.  
  
He was forced; despite the pain it caused, to admit that she seemed   
happier than she had been in a long while, happier than she had been with   
him. There was just something about the way she touched his hand even by   
accident that caused her to turn and look at him as though she had never   
seen him before. The way she got nervous every time he touched her. The   
way she seemed in a daze half the time and smiled ever so slightly when he   
spoke, listening so intently as though he were the only one there.  
They had known each other most of their lives and he had never seen   
her react this way to anyone. She was in love, and for her, it was the first   
time. Darien seemed equally intrigued. Not being one to say much he   
sometimes simply sat back and watched as she talked as if entranced by   
her every movement. What he wouldn't have given to be in his place. It was   
comforting to know that she would be happy. He would love her; that much   
he could see.  
  
Serena was enjoying herself. Her friends had greeted her and Darien   
as if they were an old couple. No mention was made of their situation and it   
had been for the best. For the first time she felt as though Darien was her   
fiancée; the one she had fallen in love with of her own free will under   
normal circumstances. She didn't doubt her friends were wondering just   
what had happened between them.  
  
She hoped her friends didn't notice what she was beginning to think   
was an obsession: staring at Darien. He had been talking once and she had   
found herself staring, entranced by his mouth. As if he'd felt her eyes on   
him, he'd stopped and turned and looked at her. He'd given one of those   
slow sexy smiles that made her flush from head to toe when he realized she   
hadn't heard what he'd just said to her.  
  
She didn't even eat that much which for her was unusual. Her   
appetite was 'healthier' than most. Eating to her was an art form that   
required precision and a wide array of different foods in large amounts. Her   
friends considered watching her eat an event, wondering just where she put   
the food away in her tiny body. Tonight however her mind was engaged in   
an entirely new and all that more fascinating art form, watching Darien.  
Despite all the 'wonders' of the evening she couldn't help sensing   
something was wrong. It didn't hit her until the evening was almost over   
just what that was. She had been so caught up in 'everything else' that she   
had paid little attention to anything else. She hadn't even taken note of   
what she was feeling coming from Andrew.   
  
He wasn't as happy as he was intent on having everyone believe. She   
knew him too well to fall for that. His eyes were distant. Something was   
wrong. She didn't get a chance to speak to him that night; 'Other things'   
had her attention. She pushed away her thoughts for the moment, making   
a resolution to talk to Drew, later.   
  
Darien had other things on his mind and all of them involved Serena   
in someway. He had spent the entire evening in a rather unusual state.   
Every time she touched him, his skin tingled as if she had just shot him   
through with electricity. He could feel her eyes on him and it made him   
smile. He found that of all the women he knew, he liked it when she looked   
at him.  
  
It pleased him to know she found him attractive and he smiled when   
he thought of what she'd say if he'd told her. "As if your ego needs any more   
help!" It was strange that he knew exactly what she would think; he even   
knew how she felt at this very moment. It was all so very strange.  
  
He'd fancied himself in love once in high school. Like every other   
woman he'd ever known, she'd merely wanted to prove that she could have   
him. He'd felt used, but over the years he had come to accept the feeling   
as the norm. Women didn't want him; they wanted what they saw, not who   
he was.   
  
Serena was different. For one thing, most of the time he doubted she   
even wanted him and unlike anything else he'd ever known, the very idea   
angered him. When she looked at him the way she had tonight however, it   
was everything. He knew she wanted him, not just what she saw, but   
everything. And maybe he was selfish to want so much from a woman, to   
want her to see him and only him but somehow he knew that if he could get   
Serena to love him she would do just that.   
  
She was loyal, devoted, and honest. She would give him everything.   
Tonight he wanted her more than ever before. The last few days had   
been a test of will. One that he hadn't been sure he would pass. Right now   
he could only hope she felt the same way because cold showers were even   
far less fun than they were purported to be.   
  
At the end of the evening, Darien walked Serena to the car. He had   
waited impatiently as they said goodbye to her friends. It was almost   
twenty minutes before he had her alone in the car.   
  
Serena couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. As the evening   
had come closer and closer to an end she had grown more and more   
nervous. Every part of her shivered with anticipation of just where this   
evening was going and for some reason it only seemed natural.   
  
She had taken extra time saying goodbye to her friends as they all   
stood outside in the restaurant parking lot, delaying the inevitable. It   
wasn't that she was scared of what might happen between them when they   
were alone she was just very, very nervous. She smiled nervously as he   
opened the car door for her.  
  
His hand brushed against hers as she stepped around him to get in.   
They both froze as they felt the sensations they'd been feeling all night   
intensify as skin brushed against skin. Serena turned around to face him   
for the moment frozen by the hungry look she recognized in his eyes, a look   
she knew was mirrored in her own. Her heart was pounding and her   
stomach seemed to have developed a pulse.   
  
And once again as if by some compelling hypnotic force, they were   
pulled together and she wasn't aware either of them had moved until she   
felt his hand on her waist and the cold metal of the car through the back of   
her dress. His head came down to meet hers and when their lips met it was   
as if the world exploded behind her closed eyes.  
  
The taste of her was amazing. She tasted impossibly like berries and   
sunshine. It certainly wasn't the usual to have a woman melt in his arms,   
but melt it seemed she had. She had relaxed in his arms and he held her   
close to him trapped between his hard body and the car. It seemed like   
they moved together knowing each other's every movement and if he didn't   
stop now it was going to be very difficult to in just a few more minutes but   
it was hard to stop kissing her, so very hard.  
  
When they finally pulled apart they were hot, flushed, and breathing   
hard. They were also suddenly aware that they were in a parking lot and   
her friends had all seen that. She peeked around his enormous body to see   
them staring at the both of them in shock. Her face turned so beet red,   
even her ears were hot. She quickly ducked back behind the safety of his   
body where she couldn't see them anymore.  
  
Darien chuckled at her embarrassment and kissed her on her   
forehead lightly.  
  
"Why don't you get in the car before I embarrass us both again," he   
said huskily.  
  
To say they hurried to her place would have been an understatement.   
At any moment Serena had expected a cop to pull up behind them. They   
made it safely though.   
  
Later Serena would almost swear he had her half undressed before   
they even got through her front door. It would have been an exaggeration   
however. The door closed behind her before he started kissing her. She   
wasn't undressed until they actually got to her bedroom door. But then   
they were far too busy to record the actual events in proper sequence or   
timing. All either of them truly remembered was that it was wonderful,   
absolutely wonderful.  
  
Early the next morning, far earlier than she was used to being awake   
to prepare for work, she stood in the shower as the water beat down on her   
body. Darien was in her kitchen hunting down a source of chocolate. She   
smiled as she remembered how he'd just about demanded chocolate of her   
this morning as though it were a life's necessity, something she could   
understand. He should be able to find some, while she was often lax about   
food shopping she never forgot to buy chocolate.  
  
She shivered despite the almost scalding hot water pouring over her   
body. She had never felt the way she had last night, the way she felt now.   
Kissing him was so overwhelming. She felt as though she had never been   
truly alive until just then. When he touched her she felt complete and at   
times it was scary. She was beginning to need him and she couldn't   
remember ever truly needing anyone since she was a child and it was   
disconcerting.  
  
A few more nights like that and she certainly would need him. He   
could definitely become an addiction.  
  
Darien found his chocolate source in a jar of M&M's in Serena's   
cupboard. Last night had been something else. She was even more   
beautiful than he had already noted. It was unnerving how badly he wanted   
her. She was a distraction. If he didn't stop thinking about her, as he didn't   
doubt he would be for the rest of the day, he wouldn't be able to get much   
work done.   
  
He was actually in the middle of cracking eggs in a bowl to make an   
omelet. It was the only western meal he ever attempted to cook. Somehow,   
he didn't think Serena would eat noodles or rice for breakfast the way he   
usually did. Eggs and a few other things were all she seemed to have in her   
refrigerator.   
  
Last night had been something new for him. He had never spent the   
night at a woman's place before. He'd always been in control and therefore   
sex had always been on his turf. Last night however, had no precedent. He   
had never experienced anything like that.  
  
He found himself at the point where she was becoming an obsession   
for him, one that had started the moment he met her. Even now he could   
remember what she smelled like, what she felt like, how she tasted. That   
line of thought wasn't very productive. It seemed he'd recorded her face in   
his mind the day he'd met her, it was so easy to remember her every   
expression.  
  
For the first time in his life everything felt right. He felt complete,   
satisfied. If he hadn't been sure he wanted to marry her before, he was   
quite certain now. There was something exceedingly strange about this   
situation. Situations like this didn't happen in real life. You didn't just meet   
the woman of your dreams and marry her. It was too perfect, too   
wonderful. Any moment now he'd wake from this dream and discover there   
was no perfect Serena with the long blonde hair. Blue-eyed angels didn't   
just walk into your life and request your hand in marriage. But it had   
happened to him and it seemed unreal.  
  
He was about to pour the eggs into the pan when the phone rang. He   
did what seemed natural and logical; he answered.   
"Hello?" There was nothing but silence. "Hello?" he repeated but all   
he heard on the other end was a click. He frowned annoyed but went back   
to his eggs, whistling as he cooked.   
  
A few minutes later Serena entered the kitchen, trying to sneak up on   
him. She failed pathetically even though she had been quiet. Her peach   
scented shampoo was just too fragrant to escape his notice.   
  
"You smell good," he said kissing her wet head. He put his arms   
around her fuzzy bathrobe-covered shoulders.   
  
"You smell like chocolate," she returned, resting herself comfortably   
against his broad, bare chest.   
  
"I don't suppose we could spend all day in bed could we?" Darien   
groaned against her hair.  
  
"I'm turning you into a weak man."  
  
"You definitely are, and I can't see myself resisting it."  
  
"Unfortunately we both have to go to work."  
  
They had breakfast, a new experience for Serena. Darien lectured her   
on the importance of the first meal of the day. She was surprised he   
actually had time to eat breakfast in the morning. She always woke up late,   
just in time to get dressed and rush out the door. There was never anytime   
for breakfast. Of course it was easy for him o be early for work when he   
only had to take the elevator down a few levels.  
  
She teased him about what a good boy he was and how proud his   
mother must be. He took that as a compliment and proudly informed her   
that Ikuko was very, very proud of her only son. She gagged at how   
nauseating that was and informed him that a 'normal' family like his was   
absolutely unreal not to mention abnormal. "Dysfunction is the key to   
normality;" that was her motto.  
  
An hour later, she kissed him goodbye. It seemed she was doomed   
to be late because even as she closed the door she realized that if she   
didn't get dressed, she would be late for work. She rushed around the   
apartment tossing on the first suit she could find in her closet and brushing   
blush on her cheeks while shoving her feet into high heels. She grabbed her   
purse and flung open the door, keys in hand, ready to face a day of   
obsessing about her fiancée while sorting through too much paperwork.  
  
  



	9. Inc. Chapter 8

Title: Inc-Chapter 8  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
  
Serena walked into her office, ready to sink down into her chair and   
breathe for a moment before getting started on the numerous things she   
had to do today. A several people she had to speak with ran through her   
head and she began making a list of all the things she would designate for   
Molly to do and all the things she had yet to get around to herself.   
As her mind ran its route, she wondered just where Molly was. She   
hadn't been at her desk when Serena walked in. She supposed she had   
gone to get coffee, but it was unusual for her to go off like that.   
  
When she walked into her office she was surprised to find herself   
faced with the prospect of not being allowed to sink comfortably in her   
chair. Instead she was subjected to the presence of the right-hand man   
himself, Alan Davidson. He was sitting comfortably in the chair across from   
her desk looking as though it was a social visit. She couldn't imagine any   
reason for him visiting her. They never shared much conversation outside   
of formal meetings. She was very curious but she tried hard not to be rude.  
  
"Good Morning?" she greeted tentatively. Letting the greeting hang in   
the air sounding like a question that demanded he give a reason for his   
visit.  
  
"Hello Serena. I just thought I'd stop in and say hello."   
  
Ok. She supposed she'd have to work to get a more logical   
explanation than that. Brian Davies, that sniveling idiot used to   
occasionally stop by to say hello in hopes of convincing her to go out with   
him. Visiting just wasn't something Davidson did.  
  
"That was very nice of you." She said. She wanted to say something   
else in an attempt to make this sound like a conversation but she was   
drawing a blank at the moment.  
  
"Actually I had something more serious on my mind that I wanted to   
talk to you about." He made a pyramid with his finger and it began to occur   
to her just what it was about him that bothered her.  
  
He was like an actor. He affected a guise of perfection that wasn't as   
real as it appeared. He was very convincing but somehow for the first time   
she was beginning to see that he wasn't all he appeared. The way he moved   
his hands, talked, behaved seemed somehow practiced.   
  
"Your father told me about your engagement."  
  
"He did?" Serena wasn't surprised, although somewhat annoyed.   
What was it about this man that made her father share everything with   
him?  
  
"I would congratulate you if I thought it was appropriate."   
  
Serena raised her eyebrows at that but said nothing.  
  
"Serena how can you go through with this? I understand your father   
can be very convincing but don't you think this is something of an irrational   
request for a man to ask his daughter?" He looked convincingly concerned   
for her well-being.  
  
"I understand my father's wishes. I don't have a problem with the   
situation at all. I don't understand why this is of any concern to you."  
  
"Serena your father confides in me a lot, but as we both know he   
isn't one to ask other peoples' advice. He's put a lot of his life and hard   
work into this company and for the past few years I have stood by his side   
watching in awe as he made some very important decisions concerning the   
welfare and success of this corporation."  
  
Serena watched as he managed to look almost convincingly   
passionate about what she was beginning to sense was a personal matter   
for him rather than anything else.   
  
"Serena, few people know this but lately your father hasn't made the   
best of decisions. I'm afraid he's losing his touch with business. Lately he's   
made a few decisions that have endangered the welfare of this company   
greatly. A few months ago he put up a percentage of his personal stock for   
sale in order to finance some of the plans he had for international   
expansion. I doubt he told you that did he?"  
  
"No he didn't", Serena replied, shocked at the news. Things had   
suddenly taken a rather serious turn. Her father hadn't told her anything   
about that.  
  
"Well you see," Davidson continued, "that stock didn't sell as well as   
he expected they would and so the plans, that you probably assumed were   
greatly financed by company profits and bank investments, were put on   
hold until he could come up with the capital to continue and the banks   
want to withdraw their investment and leave Kyler Inc. high and dry, forcing   
us to accept the loss on our own. Montgomery is perfectly willing to take   
control of the company and restore it to power.  
  
"Your father knows that Derencourt has the banks backing him and   
he's using you to cover the mistakes he's made."   
Serena was surprised and upset by all the information. How could   
her father not have told her about this?  
  
"Serena, a few more mistakes like that and this company could be in   
a lot of trouble."  
  
"It is fortunate that I'm getting married then isn't it? That will   
certainly solve all our problems," Serena said dryly.   
Somehow when her father had proposed the idea of marrying Darien   
to her it had sounded so much nobler. She had been so willing to preserve   
her family's business legacy by marrying Darien. Now as she listened to   
Davidson explain her father's true reasons she felt used.  
Her father had made a few business errors and was using her to   
mend his errors. It wasn't so noble a sacrifice on her part at all. She had   
stupidly believed for a moment that her father had considered her   
important enough to carry on the family's legacy, important enough to   
consult on a business matter, but all she had been was a pawn for him to   
use to save face.  
  
"I can't believe you're just telling me this because of your concern   
for me."  
  
"Serena, Montgomery's your uncle. Why don't you allow the company   
to be turned over to him rather than condemn yourself to an unhappy   
marriage to a man you barely know who has enough girlfriends to build his   
own personal harem?   
  
"Your father has lost his edge. He's no longer fit to run a large   
corporation. Bow out of this marriage and let things run their course. Allow   
Montgomery to take over, he's successful and a great businessman, and   
he's already a part of your family. Don't let your father ruin your life it's not   
worth it."  
  
"Montgomery is not a part of the Kyler family!" Serena said harshly.   
He just happens to be married to my Aunt. This company would be better   
off run into the ground than in his hands."  
  
"You're not thinking logically, you're upset understandably."   
Serena said nothing. She was annoyed, angry, and confused. "Could   
you please leave?" She asked quietly. "I'd like to be alone."  
  
Alan nodded, rising from his chair. "I understand. You have a lot to   
think about."  
  
He walked out of the office leaving her to her thoughts.   
  
She'd sat there for a long time staring before making an attempt to   
do work. This changed everything and yet it changed nothing. She had   
already known she was being used, but she hadn't minded so much when   
she had thought things weren't so bad and that he'd actually wanted her to   
be happy.  
  
She now realized that he had made these mistakes on his own. It   
hadn't been a market trend and a few minor mistakes that had caused the   
company to fall into trouble; it was his own risky ventures. He was using   
her to clean up his mistakes. After all these years when he had paid her no   
attention to her, assumed that she was incapable of anything good, he had   
come to her for help and used her own desperate need for a father to pull   
her into doing his dirty work.  
  
It was so agonizing. She had actually trusted him, believed that he   
was actually concerned for her welfare and that of the company. She had   
been a fool and she could see that now.  
  
She had refused all calls and messages so she was surprised to find   
Andrew standing before her quietly, staring at her downcast expression and   
the single tear streaming down her cheek.  
  
"What's the matter he asked solemnly?"  
  
"Everything," she whispered. She was frustrated and angry at the   
same time. "Oh God! I hate him!" She said vehemently, slamming her fist   
into her desk. "I trusted him. I believed him, and he lied to me."  
  
"Who? Darien?" Andrew questioned confused. She shook here head   
as if trying to clear some bad thoughts from her mind. He walked around to   
her side of the desk. In a few moments she actually got up and threw her   
arms around him for support.  
  
"I can't believe I actually fell for his bullshit about saving the Kyler   
family and continuing its tradition. He actually came down here the other   
day acting as though our relationship was suddenly perfect and I was his   
little girl again and like a naïve child I fell for it."  
  
Andrew suddenly understood. It was Richard Kyler who'd hurt her,   
again. Serena used to pretend that it was ok a long time ago; that it was   
cool not having parents who didn't care what she did and a Dad who never   
lectured her about anything, but it had hurt her then and it hurt even more   
now. She had thought she had in her grasp what she had wanted for so   
long, only to discover that it was all just fantasy.  
  
She sniffled against his shirt, holding on to him as if for dear life. He   
took her by the shoulders and pushed her away from him, wiping away her   
tears with his thumbs.   
  
"You're stronger than this Serena! You're not a little girl anymore.   
You don't have to give him the power to hurt you. You have given so much   
of yourself already to prove to him that you're good enough but maybe it's   
time you realized that he's the fool not to realize how perfect you are."  
  
"You don't need his approval or his love. You have friends who love   
you dearly. I love you." He finished huskily, instantly regretting the words   
as he saw her eyes widen. His hands were still caressing her cheeks but he   
pulled them away realizing what he had said.  
  
It hadn't been so much what he'd said but it was the way he said it.   
Serena had never really heard him say it so impassionedly before. She   
knew instantly he meant every word. He loved her now as he always had.   
How could she not have seen it before? How could she have been so   
blind to what was so obvious to anyone with eyes? What she'd felt in the   
restaurant when he looked at her, when she'd put on that dress to get his   
opinion, the way his eyes had taken her in as if to swallow her whole.   
  
He loved her and she'd just pushed him away as though he were   
inconsequential. She had been so caught up in herself and her feelings that   
she hadn't recognized what was there for her to see had she bothered to   
look. She had hurt him in a way she had never wanted to and she couldn't   
possibly feel worse than she did right now.   
  
"I… I have to go." She stuttered. She had the sense of mind to grab   
her purse before she ran out of the office, not caring that people were   
watching. She was quite sure she had heard Andrew yell her name. She   
wasn't quite sure where she was heading but the elevator doors were open   
when she got there and she was relieved to find herself alone as the doors   
closed.  
  
"Shit!" Andrew spat feeling like an ass. Serena's secretary was   
staring at him wide-eyed, as were a few other people on the floor who had   
stopped working to witness the drama.  
  
As if bye some strange twist of fate and irony Darien came up on the   
other elevator just then. He headed towards Serena's office wondering just   
why everyone seemed to have neglected their work to stare at him. His   
curiosity grew as he arrived before Serena's office to see Andrew standing   
there running his hands through his hair looking disheveled and distressed.  
Darien glanced curiously around, wondering if he was imagining   
things or had their audience drawn in closer to see what he didn't doubt   
they expected to be a confrontation.  
  
He raised a questioning eyebrow at Andrew, a gesture that Andrew   
was becoming quite used to.   
  
"Don't ask." Andrew muttered. "Not out here anyway," he added   
glancing around at their audience.  
They went into Serena's office and closed the door behind them.   
  
"What happened?" Where is she?"  
  
"Apparently she discovered her dad had lied to her about the   
situation with this merger business and she's really upset about it. Then   
being the ass that I am, I try to encourage her and end up blurting out that   
I still love her. She heard that, took a good look at my face and ran out of   
here like there was fire beneath her feet."  
  
Darien let out a deep breath. All was silent for a minute.   
  
"Where would she go?" Darien demanded.  
  
Andrew thought for a moment. "I have no idea," he muttered. "I've   
never seen her this upset."  
  
"I should kill Kyler for this." Darien growled with murder in his voice.   
  
"Better yet I'd like to kill whoever told her about this."  
  
"You know what she found out?" Andrew asked confused.  
  
"Yes, I knew. I guess I thought she knew, apparently she didn't."  
  
"What exactly is it that she didn't know?"  
  
"She didn't know her father made a few bad investments and sold off   
enough of his personal stock to put the company in danger and then used   
her to cover his ass by getting her to marry me, so he could regain the   
banks trust and up his stock value."  
  
"And she thought she was doing this just to carry on the family   
tradition. I can see where one might get pissed off about something like   
that. She's been trying to get her Dad's attention for years, and now that   
she finally got it she discovers he only used her to get what he wanted."  
  
"Well I think we'd better find her."  
  
The two men walked calmly out of her office together causing stares   
of confusion. Darien resisted the temptation to flash a grin. Obviously   
people had expected a fight to break out or something.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to have called Serena's place this morning did   
you?"  
  
"Yeah, I sometimes give her a wake up call. I didn't expect you."   
Andrew replied gruffly.  
  
Darien smiled then.  
  
While Darien had had the urge to smack Andrew up the side of the   
head for being so stupid, he couldn't. He felt badly about the whole   
situation. Andrew was a very nice guy. Unfortunately Serena was his now   
and he would never let her go.  
  
They never found her. She wasn't home; she wasn't with any of her   
friends. They even checked with her 'beloved' Aunt Vivienne. She was   
nowhere to be found. Andrew was upset and Darien was hiding his   
frustration behind a frown and a glass of scotch.   
  
They'd given up for the night after calling the hospitals and the   
police station as a result. Eventually Darien had returned to his sanctuary   
at midnight to brood. He hadn't bothered to call her father. He wouldn't   
know and if he cared, it was because the closer of the deal had   
mysteriously disappeared.   
  
Darien growled in frustration. Kyler could forget that deal. He'd   
accepted for only one reason: Serena. Serena wasn't around anymore.   
He'd gotten back to his place to find a regretful message on his   
answering machine from Setsuna.   
  
Serena was sorry but she had to go. She had to be alone for a while.   
She didn't know when or if she'd be back and she wasn't sure where she   
was going. She wanted him to know that he didn't have to marry her   
anymore, he was free to go. She did say however, that she'd miss him and   
she was sorry to screw up the deal for him. She'd actually stopped by and   
left the ring with Setsuna.  
  
It was difficult for his mind to process that she was gone. In such a   
short time she'd become so much to him. He loved her. He had fallen in   
love with her before he'd even met her. There was just something about   
her; something irresistible and forgettable.  
  
This was by no means the end he thought to himself, taking a sip of   
the bitter amber liquid as he stared out over the city. He needed her   
desperately and he'd go to the ends of the earth to find her if he had to.  
Just then his phone rang. He glanced at his watch and realized he'd   
been standing there for an hour just staring. It was no wonder the scotch   
was warm and watery. The ice had long since melted. It was well after one   
who would call now.  
  
"Hello?"   
  
"It's Michelle. I called you earlier until about twelve before I gave up.   
I decided to make one last effort. I'd ask where you've been but I'm afraid I   
might not want to know."  
  
"I've been looking for my fiancée."  
  
"I've been meaning to congratulate you on that. I wasn't even aware   
you were acquainted with the Kylers." She paused for a moment when she   
realized exactly what he'd said and how he'd said it.  
  
"You lost your fiancée?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking." He replied wearily. "Never mind that,   
what's so important? It's very late."  
  
"Well when Mom couldn't get in touch with you personally she asked   
me to get in touch with you for her."  
  
"Uncle Charles has died." There was a moment of silence after   
Darien sighed and tossed down the remaining contents of the glass in his   
hand. Charles was his father's older brother with whom Philip Derencourt   
had never gotten along.   
  
"Shit!"  
  
"I know. I'm sorry."  
  
"Isn't there someone else?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Damn it! I don't need this right now."  
  
" I'm sorry but you are the 14th Earl de Morny. You are the only   
direct male descendant, there's no avoiding it. His lawyers need you to go   
to France for the reading of the will."  
  
Darien sighed again. "I really do have better things to do."  
  
"Like finding your fiancée?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"Well Alex thinks it's about time you got a title. You already behave   
like royalty. Maybe the idea of becoming a Countess will lure your fiancée   
back."  
  
"Serena's not like that. She's not like anyone else. That's why I need   
to find her."  
  
"My god! You're actually in love! I never thought it possible."  
  
"When do I have to be there?"  
  
"Saturday morning. The will will be read after the funeral."  
  
"Are you coming with me?" he asked.   
  
"Do you want me to?"   
  
"Sure."  
  
After he hung up with his sister Darien dragged himself to the bed   
and into the shower. Charles Derencourt, 13th Earl de Morny had not been   
a particularly friendly guy. He hadn't gotten along with anyone, not his   
parents and certainly not his mellow younger brother Phillip.   
  
He had only one daughter before his wife had divorced him after   
which he'd spent the rest of his life alone doing whatever it was that he did.   
It had occurred to Darien a few years ago when his grandmother had died   
that eventually the title would come to him unless his uncle found a woman   
to marry him and have his son. He hadn't spent too much time thinking   
about it however.   
  
He couldn't wait till the press caught wind of his new inheritance. It   
seemed no one had bothered to delve too deeply into his past to discover   
his noble roots. He had just been an average kid from average middleclass   
American parents. Now he was to take on a title and no doubt the estate   
that went with it. As if he didn't already have enough to do.   
  
Setsuna's mouth fell open at the sight before her. He looked   
positively awful! Even more shocking he was late! Not that the boss could   
really be late, but based on his previous record, he was late. His hair was a   
mess, his tie was crooked and he had bags under his eyes.  
  
"What happened?"   
  
"What do you mean?" he growled.  
  
"You look like you were run over by a tractor trailer."  
  
"I guess I didn't sleep very well." He frowned. "I need you to cancel   
everything for the next few days and arrange for a flight for two to Paris for   
tomorrow. On second thought make that three I have no doubt Allex will   
want to join us," he added rolling his eyes.   
  
"I guess you'll want drugs to go with that flight?" Setsuna asked   
mischievously.  
  
"Of course!" he groaned. "I wouldn't get on the plane without them. I   
want to be out when that plane gets off the ground and if it crashes I want   
to die in my sleep!"  
  
Setsuna smiled. Mr. Strong and Mighty actually got motion   
sickness."  
  
"Business or pleasure?" She asked, curious as to this sudden change   
in scheduling.  
  
"Unpleasant business; my uncle died and I just became the new Earl   
de Morny. "  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that, my lord."   
He raised an annoyed eyebrow at her.  
  
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She shrugged, smiling as he shuffled   
lifelessly into his office.   
  



	10. Inc. Chapter 09

Title: Inc-Chapter 9  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
Serena felt like it had been days since she'd left San Francisco. She   
had expected to feel better once she was away from everything that had   
hurt her. Instead, she was lying on a lumpy bed in a decent hotel with a   
half tub of frozen yogurt still feeling guilty, depressed and lonely.   
  
She hadn't escaped anything at all. If anything she felt far worse now   
than she had originally. She felt like an immature child trying to run away   
from problems that were determined to follow her around the world.  
She would feel pretty stupid if she came halfway around the world   
just to get away from her problems only to return home worse than she had   
arrived. She tossed the half finished tub of yogurt into the garbage,   
grabbed her hotel keys and her purse. There was a remedy to this   
situation.  
  
Three hours later, shopping hadn't helped. She had a half dozen   
outfits, three different pairs of shoes and a bottle of perfume to add to her   
collection. It wasn't difficult to pinpoint the basis of all her frustration. She   
missed Darien. She sank down unto a bench on the sidewalk.   
  
Every time she thought about her decision in terms of him she began   
regretting. She was shocked by the almost irresistible temptation to return   
and marry him despite her feelings about her father. It was a feeling she   
was having a hard time fighting.  
  
For what must have been the hundredth time over the past two days   
she went over the events that had led up to her being in Europe. She had   
actually quit her job by e-mail the day after she arrived in London, leaving   
her father to deal with the consequences. She'd only spent a half-day in   
London before heading to Paris, her favorite city of all the places she'd   
visited over the years.  
  
The first day she had spent mostly in her hotel room sleeping and   
eating, two of her most favorite things. Today she had been on the verge of   
doing the same until the sudden inspiration to shop had visited her. Now if   
only she could be inspired with a solution to her problems. What was she   
going to do with the rest of her life now that she'd quit her job, lost two   
fiancées, and traveled to a different country?  
  
She was still pondering the answer to that question when she heard a   
sudden squeal.   
  
"Oh my God!" the high-pitched voice yelled startling Serena out of   
her miserable reflections. Serena looked up to see a face she had never   
expected to see again. The woman was in her twenties and she had curly   
black hair and an angular face in which were set the brightest and most   
unusual violet eyes, Serena recalled having seen. She had choker with and   
engraved full moon on it and a sleeveless deep blue summer dress.   
Physically she was the same as she had always been.  
  
"Lulu?" Serena questioned unable to believe this coincidence. Lulu,   
short for Luan had been one of Serena's best friends in college, they'd even   
been roommates for a year. In their junior year she'd decided to spend a   
year in Europe studying fine art. She'd found she liked it and decided to   
stay and Serena hadn't seen much of her since.  
  
Lulu had always been the strange and mysterious kind. She had an   
obsession with astrology and the effect of the moon. Serena remembered   
once she'd walked into the room they shared to find the floor littered with   
charcoal drawings on large sheets of newsprint of the moon in various   
stages. Lulu had then proceeded to give her a rather accurate palm reading   
and that had only been a small portion of her strange ways.  
"I can't believe it's you Serena! What are you doing here in Paris?"  
"Running away from life. How about you? I can't believe you're still   
here!"  
"There's nowhere else for me. This must be destiny; us meeting like   
this! There is no such thing as a coincidence, especially not one this big!"   
Serena smiled. She hadn't changed.   
  
"Well the hand of destiny hasn't been dealing out the best of cards to   
me lately," Serena commented dryly.  
  
"This must have something to do with your love life." Lulu remarked.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Serena questioned.  
  
"Whenever people seem truly miserable and confused, it usually has   
something to do with love."  
  
"That and other complications." Serena soon found herself telling   
Luan the whole story. When she was done and Luna's last, 'I see' had been   
said, Serena let out a deep breath.  
  
"So why are you here and not dragging the poor man to the altar, like   
you know you want to?"  
  
"I told you. My dad…"  
  
"What happened with your dad changes nothing! Why are you trying   
to convince yourself that somehow what he did made a difference? Serena   
you've always known about the situation with your father. You knew the   
situation when you got into it."  
  
"Even this situation with Andrew has changed nothing for you really.   
The only thing stopping you from going back home and marrying the man,   
that it's plainly obvious you've fallen head over heels with, is you!"  
"What do you mean?" Serena asked.  
  
"I mean that it's obvious to me that you're running scared and this   
thing with Andrew is what finally pushed you over the edge." She paused   
for emphasis before continuing. "Having Andrew tell you that he loves you   
reminded you that you were throwing away a secure relationship with a   
man you've known for most of your life for the dream guy you never even   
expected to find.  
  
" It scares you that you've fallen so hard, so quickly and you're so   
afraid that it's a fleeting kind of happiness so you ran away from it before it   
could disappear on you."  
  
Serena was stunned. How could Lulu know so much? She'd summed   
up Serena's entire situation and found the root of her problem in just a few   
minutes.   
  
"Wow!" was all she could say.  
  
"You need to go find that man before you lose him. I'd love to meet   
the man that has you this stirred up."  
  
"He's incredible," Serena whispered. "Just the sight of him makes   
me weak. He's so perfect that sometimes I can't believe he's real."  
  
"A soul mate?"  
  
"It certainly feels that way when we…" She trailed off but the red hue   
that colored her cheeks gave away the direction of her thoughts.  
  
"That good huh?" Luan said smiling.  
  
"Enough about my love life," Serena switched subjects. "What about   
you?"  
  
Luan sighed. "I'm still waiting for the one. I have it on good authority   
he should arrive in the next year or so though?"  
  
"What authority would that be?"  
  
"My horoscope of course!" Luan stated as though it were the most   
normal thing in the world. Serena shook her head and smiled.   
  
"Well before you go off to find that man, come have dinner with me?"  
  
"Sure. I'd love to." Serena replied, genuinely happy for the   
opportunity to spend time with her friend.  
  
  
"You know, Darien, I never liked you but I certainly never took you for   
a lazy man. I guess I'll have to reform my opinion," Alex said mockingly to   
the prone figure of Darien relaxing in the sun. He was on a lounging chair   
on a patio that looked out over a cliff to the ocean. The estate he'd just   
inherited lay by the Mediterranean Sea outside Arles.  
  
"That's 'my lord' to you, Alex." Darien muttered. He should have   
been more annoyed with her for disrupting the only rest he was likely to get   
for a while and the first he'd had ina few days but he wasn't really able to   
rest anyway. Yesterday he'd officially become Earl de Morny and he'd   
decided to spend the next few days taking a little vacation. He certainly felt   
like he deserved one.  
  
Rest wasn't coming easy to him, however. It seemed whenever he   
closed his eyes Serena's face appeared as if somehow she had embedded   
herself on the insides of his eyelids. Most of his thoughts revolved around   
where she was and what she was doing.   
  
For the moment however his thoughts were occupied with just what   
Alex wanted from him now. He'd been spared her presence on the flight;   
the drugs he'd taken had knocked him out for most of the flight. Saturday,   
the day of the funeral, both she and Michelle had found themselves   
comforting Charles' fifteen year old daughter Helena, who seemed to think   
Alex was some kind of goddess.   
  
The poor girl was so pale and thin and had just returned from the   
boarding school she had just recently begun attending, having left her last   
one behind only a year ago. Darien was now the legal guardian of a   
teenager he'd never even met, who from the looks of her pale skin, jet-black   
hair, and delicate form, needed a lot of attention. Just three years before,   
the young girl had lost her mother and now here she was mourning the loss   
of her father. Darien and Michelle were now her closest living family.   
Perhaps it was selfish of him but despite all the things that had   
occurred in the past few days all he could think about was her. His visions   
of Serena were so vivid that he could almost smell her peach shampoo.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Alex asked, inviting herself to sit in   
the chair next to him.  
  
"Nothing. I'm tired and I was trying to get some rest."   
  
Alex purposefully ignored his hint that he wanted to be alone.   
"Michelle told me you lost your fiancée. How ever did you sucker a sweet   
girl like Serena into becoming your fiancée anyway? You never struck me as   
the one woman type man."  
  
"I'm really getting tired of hearing what 'type' of man I 'supposedly'   
am. What did you expect me to be single forever?"  
  
"One could only hope," Alex commented. No female should have to   
endure a relationship with you."  
  
"Just what is it about me that you find so distasteful Alex?"  
  
"You are an arrogant misogynist bastard."  
  
"And exactly how did you come up with that ridiculous idea?"  
  
"I don't know." Alex said sarcastically. "Maybe it has something to   
do with the fact that every other week you have a new woman on your arm,   
never the same one in a row mind you. You use them and then move one.   
In fact, less than two weeks before you got engaged, something no one   
expected, you were out with another woman."  
  
Darien smiled. "Why are you so concerned with what I do? Has it ever   
occurred to you that just maybe those women actually enjoy being with me?   
Even if they didn't it's their job to show up at events with someone of   
importance. They are models! They do publicity for the designers, whose   
outfits they happen to be wearing at the time. It improves the company's   
public image when I am seen with models that also happen to be big   
participants in charity events that I sponsor.   
  
"You don't even have a logical reason for disliking me do you Alex?   
Serena informed me that the only reason you don't like me is because   
you're as arrogant and overbearing as I am. I am suddenly inclined to   
believe she's right."  
  
"That's the worse insult I have ever received." Alex mumbled. "How   
did you and Serena get together anyway?"  
  
"That's a long story."  
  
"You're on vacation, you have time."  
  
By the time he was done Alex was looking at him incredulously.   
"I thought you were more intelligent than this?"  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well first I'm surprised she didn't run away because of you. Then of   
course there's the fact that you're here relaxing while the woman you love   
is somewhere you're not doing God knows what with God only knows who.   
Don't tell me you've given up already?"  
  
"I just thought maybe she needed some time alone until she sorted   
things out."  
  
"Well while you're being so considerate she's probably as miserable   
as you are, pining away without you." Alex groaned and almost choked on   
the bitter taste welling up inside her mouth. "Oh god, I sound like some   
romantic loser with nothing better to do than interfere with other people's   
love lives. It's nauseating. I need a beer!" With that she got up leaving him   
alone once again.  
  
"So how long are you going to stay before you run off to find that   
man of yours?" Luan asked.  
  
"I don't know. I suppose I should probably go home really soon. I   
really do miss him."   
  
Luan nodded in understanding. "Maybe you want to visit your old   
school while you're here. I'm sure the nuns you used to tell me about would   
love to see you."  
  
"I hadn't thought much about it," Serena replied, "but now that you   
say so I believe I just might."  
  
Serena recalled things she hadn't thought   
about in a long while. After taking the obligatory rich kid trip to Europe with   
her friends, Serena had fallen in love with France, and had spent her high   
school junior year in a private high school for girls as an exchange student.   
She had given the nuns hell with the aid of some of her new and even   
more mischievous friends. It had been a great time in her life and when   
she'd gotten to college she'd regaled her friends with stories of her time in   
school and the silly things she'd done. She didn't doubt Sister Marie   
Celeste missed her deeply. Who else would dare to read romance novels in   
her history class?  
  
"Mind if I join you? I never forgot all those stories you told me. I can't   
wait to see for myself what this school's like."  
  
"I'd enjoy the company." Serena replied honestly.  
  
  
"Charles' housekeeper Amelia came to Darien as he was going   
through all the documents and files his uncle had kept in his office. The   
man had at least the good sense to leave his daughter the majority of his   
money.  
  
Helena was now his responsibility and Amelia had come to remind   
him of it. Was she going back to school or would she be returning to the   
United States with him? He hadn't thought too much on what to do with the   
young girl. Amelia suggested he visited her school and make a decision   
then. He suspected that she didn't believe it was a good idea for the girl to   
be away at school but she didn't feel it her place to say so.   
  
Well if he was going to see to the girl's welfare he may as well check   
out where she'd spent her time. If he were going to sign her out of her   
school he'd have to do it in person anyway. He wouldn't waste a trip   
coming back here. The school was closer to Paris and since most of   
Helena's things were at school anyway, if he decided to take her with him,   
he'd simply have her pick her things up on her way. He frowned. The   
realization that he was going to have to give up that bachelor pad of his   
was beginning to dawn on him.  
  
The old school was a rather old and not very attractive yet somehow   
appealing collection of buildings that had been built so very long ago it was   
amazing they hadn't yet crumbled. The paint had long since peeled off   
sections of the walls and whole wall faces were covered in deep green ivy   
vines.   
  
Serena and Luan walked into the entrance hall of the main building.   
Despite it's exterior the inside of the building had always been beautiful. It   
was still as beautiful as ever with its dark wooden panels and warm orange   
lamps. There was something different though. It didn't seem as welcoming   
as it used to. There was an element of what could only be described as   
decay.  
  
A young nun, with whom Serena wasn't familiar greeted them,   
inquiring as to whether they were relatives of anyone currently attendance.   
They asked to see Sister Marie Celeste but were surprised to find she was   
no longer there.  
  
The young nun, whose name was Sister Louise, led them to the office   
of Mother Therese, the headmistress. Serena was uncomfortable and   
disappointed that she wouldn't be able to introduce Luan to the wonderful   
woman she'd known.   
  
Mother Therese was a stern-looking older woman who had replaced   
the former headmistress. She informed them that Marie Celeste had   
actually been released of her vows and had moved to the London a few   
years ago. Everything had changed so much since she'd been there.  
  
  
Darien was concerned about Helena. There was little that seemed to   
excite the girl at all. He hadn't heard more than two words leave her lips   
since he'd first met her. She always seemed so intent on receding into the   
background.   
  
He had never had any experience with children, certainly not any   
teenagers. He had no idea what to say to her to comfort her. Fortunately, at   
least for the time being the girl seemed to be finding some sort of comfort   
with Alex and his sister. He wondered if she spoke any English, he would   
have to ask his sister later.  
  
The limo he had rented to bring them back to Paris finally pulled up   
to what amounted to a charming building, that he guessed was the main   
building of her school. Helena didn't look particularly excited to be   
returning. After the meeting with her headmistress, Michelle had promised   
to ask if she'd like to stay here or return with them to San Francisco. At the   
moment she seemed to be intimidated by him and he doubted she'd   
answer him if he were to ask anyway.  
  
Currently it seemed all the students were in their classes, as no one   
seemed to be around. Already he could sense a feeling of oppressiveness in   
the atmosphere. He'd never understood how parents could send their   
children off to boarding schools for most of the year. Especially to places   
like this.   
  
The oppressive feeling was intensified as he and his 'entourage'   
entered the main hall. The inside was significantly more attractive than the   
outside but it also had a subtle atmosphere of decay as though the joy had   
been sucked out of the air.   
  
A tiny little nun, Sister Louise, wimpled and gowned, informed them   
that the headmistress was currently with guests but would be with them   
shortly. She expressed her condolences to them all before departing to   
wherever it was nuns went to do whatever they did. Helena didn't so much   
as nod.  
  
As they waited in the hall, the three women sat down while Darien   
paced impatiently, taking in the curiosities of the room. He wasn't used to   
waiting. He had an inexplicable sensation of anxiety and it was actually   
building. Just as he thought he might burst from the strange feeling the   
headmistress's door opened but instead of a nun, a dark-haired woman   
came out. The woman following was the one that caught his attention   
however. He froze, mid step when he saw her.   
  
Serena bid the stern and forbidding Mother Therese goodbye,   
realizing that everyone she'd known here had long since moved on. This   
place wasn't anything like it had been when she was here. She was   
disappointed, but strangely she couldn't help this building unnamable   
sensation. It was as though her whole body as suddenly on edge.   
"Is something the matter?" Luan asked, turning her head back   
towards Serena as she opened the office door.  
  
Serena shook her head as if trying to get rid of the feeling and Luan   
continued out the door. Luan stepped aside, allowing her to get into the   
hallway and Serena's eyes opened wide in shock as she saw the amazing   
sight before her. She'd known she missed him, but certainly not so much   
as to hallucinate!  
  
He certainly seemed more real than any other vision she'd ever had.   
He seemed to be in the midst of pacing the hall impatiently. His black hair   
still hung into his eyes and his hands were held together behind his back.   
He was too beautiful to be just her imagination. Her mind could never do   
him justice.   
  
"Darien," she whispered even as she heard him say her name.  
Within moments he was across the room and before her. She   
seemed to be frozen, staring at him as if in awe.   
  
"I can see why you missed him so much!" Luan whispered   
mischievously but loud enough for them both to hear.   
  
"You missed me?" Darien asked, a smile spreading across his face   
and lighting up his eyes that were staring intently into hers." Serena   
nodded rather than risking speech in what she was sure would be a croak   
of a voice.  
  
To her surprise, but utter satisfaction, he covered her lips with his   
own. It wasn't a chaste kiss, nor was it a normal kiss. It was filled with all   
the passion and longing that they had endured for each other over the past   
few days. It certainly wasn't an appropriate display for a catholic school   
and definitely not something you wanted to do before Mother Superior who   
was standing behind them clearing her throat. She done it about three   
times before they both heard her.  
  
They pulled away from each other and at least one of them was very   
embarrassed. Darien was amused and apparently Michelle and Alex were   
too as they were smiling intently at the couple and the headmistress who'd   
just taken her place beside them. Helena was showing the first emotional   
reaction they'd seen out of her all day. She still stared wide-eyed in shock   
at the rather passionate display before her.   
  
"I take it you two know each other," the stern old nun commented   
sardonically.   
  
Serena blushed intensely but said nothing. Darien didn't seem to feel   
obliged to say anything either, nor did he have the grace to at least appear   
embarrassed. He seemed to have forgotten his purpose for being there in   
the first place. He was content holding Serena close to him. He was merely   
protecting his interests, making sure she didn't run off without him ever   
again.  
  
Michelle walked up to the headmistress and introduced herself and   
Darien as the Earl de Morny, which made Serena stare up at him in shock.   
She was hearing all these things suddenly and none of them were making   
any sense.   
  
"Since my brother seems a bit preoccupied at the moment, it seems   
I'll be the one to inform you that we're withdrawing Helena from the school.   
My brother is now her legal guardian and we feel its best for her to be with   
her family at this time." Darien didn't doubt that the decision had been   
made before they even left the house and he'd either been so preoccupied   
he hadn't heard it, or they hadn't bothered to tell him. Both were plausible   
explanations.  
  
The nun frowned but nodded. Serena had the distinct sensation that   
she didn't approve, of the guardian or the decision. It was probably due to   
the fact that she'd be losing funds as a result. Darien seemed to have   
picked up on that an immediately offered a 'small' donation, in the area of   
several thousand dollars, which put the first smile Serena had seen since   
she arrived on the nun's face.  
  
The nun then turned to Serena and glanced down at her hand.   
"If you two intend to carry on such sordid public displays, I suggest   
you put a ring on that finger as soon as possible," She snapped at Darien   
with a decidedly sour look on her face.  
  
"She must have misplaced it, Mother. Fortunately I recovered it." He   
pulled out the ring he'd been carrying around with him for days and began   
sliding it unto her finger as everyone looked on in combined amusement   
and awe at the making of a great romance before their eyes.   
  
"Well," Mother Therese began, turning to Michelle and Alex, "I   
suppose you ladies would like to help Helena collect her things. I'll just   
need Lord Derencourt's signature on a few papers. "Helena why don't you   
take your cousin up to your room and get your things?"  
  
It didn't take long to sign the papers while Alex and Michelle helped   
Helena pack; it was the only time Darien deemed it allowable to leave   
Serena's side. During that time, Serena introduced him to Luan who still   
seemed to be amused by their earlier display and Darien managed a short   
but thorough explanation of everything that had happened over the last few   
days. Just as they finished signing the papers, Mother Therese glared them   
down once more.  
  
"I take it you two are recently engaged?" She didn't pause for a reply   
but continued with her lecture. "I suggest you put a more permanent band   
on her finger. It is inappropriate to raise a young girl in a house of sinful   
concubinage. I'm sure you can understand the benefit of setting a good   
example, my lord." She directed at Darien.  
  
"Please, either call me Darien, or Mr. Derencourt, I'm and American;   
this my lord business makes me sound like a stuffy old man."  
  
"Besides, his ego doesn't need any boosts," Serena added teasingly.  
"I assure you, Mother," I have every intention of being married as   
soon as possible. I don't suppose you'd happen to have a priest in   
attendance do you?  
  
"Darien!" Serena squealed wide-eyed unable to believe what he was   
suggesting.  
  
"We usually don't but Father Morley has been visiting with us. He's   
originally from Ireland."  
  
"You can't possibly be suggesting we get married now!" Serena   
screeched.  
  
"Give me one good reason why not?"  
  
"Because… because…" Serna couldn't really find a decent reason.   
She really did want to marry him. "My mother is going to be very upset with   
you."  
  
"Then don't tell her!"  
  
"Fine then! Let's get married."  
  
"I wasn't suggesting you actually get married exactly at the   
moment!" Mother Therese snapped.  
  
"Well I can't guarantee my ability to keep us both out of sin until we   
can get back to San Francisco Mother. I'd hate to set a bad example for   
Helena." He seemed charmingly innocent for a moment, belying the   
devilish bend of his thoughts.   
  
Mother Therese was either annoyed or charmed by Darien because   
she merely huffed and called for Louise to get the priest.  
  
When Alex and Michelle came downstairs, they were surprised to find   
Serena and Luan holding flowers that Louise had found for them in the   
garden and they were conversing with a short bald man dressed in a   
priest's robes.  
  
"What's going on here?" Alex asked in a rather bold manner that   
made Mother Therese frown up at her tall figure in a disapproving way that   
might have served as intimidating to the girls she supervised. Alex however,   
quite used to being far more intimidating, was hardly phased.  
  
"Your compatriots have decided to tie the proverbial knot," Mother   
Therese said. She was attempting to sound displeased but it wasn't   
difficult to see she was quite satisfied with the situation.   
  
"Here? Now?" Michelle asked.  
  
Darien grinned like a teenager, something she hadn't seen him do in   
a long while, not like that anyway. He certainly didn't look a day over   
twenty-one when he was smiling like a Cheshire cat on acid.   
  
"Yes my dear," the priest answered in a rather thick Irish brogue. "I've been   
called upon to perform this ceremony on rather short notice. Normally I   
wouldn't do this sort of thing but it seems your brother's soul might be in   
some trouble if we don't do this soon. I'd hate to see such a handsome   
young couple fall into the way of sin." It was quite obvious the priest was   
teasing. The man had probably married couples on their way to the   
maternity ward.  
  
"What soul?" Alex questioned, managing to look quite serious. If   
Darien's soul wasn't already half way to hell, then she was a bloody saint   
too!  
  
Darien glared at Alex and Serena suppressed a childish urge to   
giggle.   
  
The group was led out to the chapel that lay behind the main   
building. It was actually quite charming. It had a narrow arched stone   
entrance and the old wooden doors were now protected by a second glass   
one. Inside the church, were two aisles on either side that led up to the   
beautifully altar area. The whole place seemed to be touched by golden   
light. Statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary flanked the altar. Even Alex   
couldn't be irreverent in a place like this.  
  
Michelle had returned to the car to get the violin she never went   
anywhere without. Alex was playing best woman, Luan, maid of Honor and   
Helena, a charming bridesmaid. Michelle stood in a corner playing a lovely   
violin piece that would serve as a wedding march. Serena had changed into   
a dress she'd bought earlier that day and she proceeded to walk down the   
aisle, having been preceded by Helena wearing the only dress she could   
find, a lilac dress, that made her look about ten years old.   
  
Serena's dress had been one she'd fallen in love with on sight in the   
store. By pure coincidence it was actually white and strangely enough she   
hadn't really had any idea where she would have worn it to if this hadn't   
happened. It was a thin-strapped Nicole Miller creation, cut straight across   
the chest in tube fashion. The knee length dress had tiny brick red   
starburst flowers evenly dispersed over it's surface and she was a vision   
that made Darien smile, as she walked down the aisle, with a mismatched   
bunch of flowers in her hand and her brand new black-strapped heels that   
didn't match anything else.   
  
There was no weeping in the church when they both said their vows   
and were proclaimed man and wife. Everyone smiled happily as Darien   
kissed his bride, although Alex did check her watch when they began to   
approach the thirty-second mark. They just might have continued for the   
whole minute if Mother Therese hadn't seen it fit to put and end to their   
overzealous romantic display by clearing her throat strongly, again. Father   
Morley didn't seem to mind, but he seemed to be a romantic at heart.  
  
DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW  



	11. Inc. Epilogue

Title: Inc-epilogue  
Author: MarshAngel  
e-mail:watsonma@hotmail.com  
webpage: http://www.crosswinds.net/~marshangel/angelmoon.htm  
  
Serena slowly opened her eyes squinting at the sunlight streaming in   
through the windows. She reached her hand across the bed and her hands   
found exactly what she was looking for. He was warm, naked, and sleeping.   
Even after being Serena Derencourt, Countess de Morley for the past few   
days, she was having a hard time getting used to the idea that Darien, her   
husband, would always be sleeping next to her, that is until they had their   
first fight and she made him sleep on the couch.  
  
They had decided to remain in Paris for another week. Alex, Michelle,   
and Helena had returned to San Francisco. Michelle and Alex had actually   
volunteered to take over guardianship of Helena temporarily. Something   
more permanent would need to be worked out later. In the meantime   
Serena and Darien were enjoying their honeymoon. They hadn't actually   
ventured beyond their hotel room for the first thirty-six hours after their   
short wedding ceremony.  
  
"Is their something specific you're feeling around for?" Darien asked   
his wife.  
  
"I guess you're not sleeping then?"  
  
"No. Although I don't know why not, you've worn me out. I may never   
walk again."   
  
"I don't think I want to go home ever. I don't want to face Andrew or   
my parents or any of that stuff I left behind. I quit my job you know. I think   
I'd be content to lie here forever.  
  
"You're going to have to learn to stop doing that."  
  
"Doing what? Lazing around? You're going to have to get used to   
that. I do it all the time."  
  
"I was referring to your habit of drawing on guilt and emotions that   
aren't yours. Andrew understands that you don't love him. He doesn't   
expect that you should feel guilty because you don't. He never intended for   
you to know that because he knew you'd be upset by it. He will move on   
with his life and he wants you to do the same.   
  
"As for your father, he was obviously dropped on his head one too   
many times as a child if he doesn't see what a wonderful person you are.   
You are brilliant, absolutely beautiful and incredibly wonderful. You don't   
need him to tell you that anymore. Believe I can more than make up for his   
neglect."  
  
"You are too perfect. I can't understand why of all people you wanted   
to marry me. At first I thought you were just doing it for the sake of   
business but now I'm confused. Why did you marry me?"  
  
"Ok. I guess you aren't as brilliant as I thought. I married you   
because I fell in love with you before I even met you. That night Andrew   
invited me out to dinner with you and your friends; I only went because I   
knew you'd be there.  
  
"When your father first made his business offer, I decided I needed   
to find out everything about your family. It's common procedure. I saw a   
picture of you and Andrew in a magazine and decided you two didn't   
belong together. Setsuna thought I was nuts. As it turns out, I was right!  
"I love you Serena. I know it probably sounds cheesy but I used to   
have this vision of the perfect woman in my mind and every woman I've   
ever been out with was measured against that standard. When I met you I   
had to toss out that standard because you met and exceeded everything I   
thought I could want in a woman. I think I made up my mind to have you   
the day I met you. I think I might have even tried to seduce you even   
without the business deal or with Andrew still in your life."  
  
"And to think Mother Therese was worried about your soul! She   
should have been worried about you corrupting hers!" Serena teased.  
  
"I love you too Darien. I think what I feel most guilty about is not so   
much for not loving Andrew but for not recognizing earlier that I didn't. I   
think I forced myself to believe that I did for so long but I never really did.   
I'm happy I had the chance to end our relationship before I met you. It   
would have hurt him more if I let myself be seduced by you while I was still   
engaged to him. I would have given in you know. No woman could   
withstand you."  
  
"As for Daddy. I think I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that   
he just doesn't know how to love anyone. It's sad but true. I do feel badly   
about letting Kyler fall to Montgomery though. It's still a family business   
despite everything."  
  
"Are you saying you actually want to rescue your father?" Darien   
asked. He had expected as much. At heart Serena was very loyal.  
"Not exactly."  
  
A few weeks later Serena was sitting in the CEO's chair with a new   
view from the top of the building from her new office. The contracts had   
been rewritten by Darien and Kyler Inc.'s lawyers. The contracts had forced   
the resignations of her father and Davidson, whom as it turned out had   
been paid by Montgomery for insider information.   
  
Montgomery was furious. He and Davidson were being brought upon   
charges and in the midst of it all, Serena's aunt Vivienne was filing for a   
divorce, something that shocked everyone.   
  
He wasn't the only furious one, however. Serena's father wasn't even   
speaking to her. He'd signed the contract only because he knew it was the   
only way the company would survive and remain in the family.   
  
Serena wasn't too concerned however. She was too busy with   
everything she had to do, from running the company, to deciding what she   
would wear to the next event she was obligated to attend. The public's   
fascination with her as a CEO and Darien's wife was never-ending. Suddenly   
they had been launched into the unenviable position of American Royalty,   
titled and all.  
  
Her mind ran on the day they had first returned from their   
honeymoon. Setsuna had been very upset with Darien for not calling. Her   
mother had had a fit about the wedding and was even now still demanding   
that they renew their vows in public to satisfy her desire for a wedding.   
Darien's mother had given him a lecture about not bringing his fiancée to   
meet her before they eloped and there were numerous other things.  
  
The most amusing had been when Setsuna had given Darien the two   
hundred year old bottle of wine Vicente had sent over in thanks. Darien had   
had no idea what she had been talking about. As it turned out, his lawyers   
had called during their honeymoon, while he had been 'busy', and in his   
'befuddled' state of mind he'd told them to tell Vicente to "take his   
company and shove it because right now he had better things to do than   
deal with him." The deal had been canceled and upon hearing the news,   
Darien sat down and drank the whole bottle of wine.  
  
Serena spun around in her chair and ran over the tasks in her mind;   
she needed an entirely new wardrobe. Her mother wanted a wedding and   
her friends wanted to be bridesmaids. They'd just have to settle for a baby   
shower. It's funny how honeymoons work.  
  



End file.
